The Healer
by Freedom is Power
Summary: Continuing on, Zuko searches desperately for a man known only as the Healer in hopes to save Tiana from death itself. With the aftermath of the war plaguing Zuko's mind,he may have a few other things to think about. ZUKO X O.C  TIANA
1. Chapter 1

Heya there, new story! woo! If you read my last story (harmony of the opposites) you'll know about the characters but if you haven't...then..you should read it :) But if not das okay too! sorry it took so long to get out though! Gosh I've been so darn lazy AND my computer broke...hooray...bottom line the main factor for my not writing would be ...procrastination

So on with it then!

I don't own avvie (sad) but I continue to be in ownership of the new favorites of my avatar cast (Tiana and Sai)

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Tiana finally exhausted herself and fell back into the bed, she called out his name one last time although her voice was dropped to a whisper "Zuko" she thought for sure this was probably the worst she's felt emotionally and physically in a long long time. Her voice was left unheard, he left her alone. Tiana didn't want him to leave her like this, hurt, dying. But he still left with a small hope to save her even though she'd rather died with him by her side than be alone feeling so close to death without him.

She wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since Zuko had left with Aang? days? maybe a few weeks? it seemed quiet around the palace. Tiana was under heavy surveillance in case her heart failed again but she seemed to be alright for now, Kanna came in every day to see if Tiana wanted to go out in the garden, but everyday she refused. Katara had left with her father to the southern water tribe and Sokka went with Suki back to Kyoshi Island to everyone's surprise Ty-lee was already better and had actually joined the Kyoshi warriors, Toph went back to be with her parents and from what she said in her letter which they had received that day in her own words "They were as angry as Sokka would be if Momo stole his food" nobody has seemed to be totally convinced that the war is over, they've been arresting Fire-nation people who aren't accepting the fact that the fire-nation no longer has total rule. Iroh took the throne as a temporary Fire Lord until Zuko comes back with both the cure and his decision. Sai had decided to stick around, Sai probably thought Kanna hadn't noticed when he paused to take a long glance at the door to the infirmary every day or when he was in the infirmary to have his bandages changed when he stared at Tiana's door. Kanna had told him that he could see her but he always said no. Ursa spoke to Zuko through his dreams every night telling him of what was going on and Zuko told her of their journey so far. They'd been following the map that Ursa had given them, they'd never seen a map quite like it. It was pretty much ancient, in fact it was! Aang knew the spot though he said he'd played there as a child...well a younger kid at least, but Zuko wasn't surprised. They were just in open air at the moment but were definitely in the right direction.

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Kanna walked into the infirmary prepared to ask the same question she did every morning but deep down she knew today would be different. Kanna gently knocked on the door before opening it, Tiana barely acknowledged her presence. TIana ignored Kanna as she heard the old woman walk closer"Tiana?..Are you alright?" she asked softly pulling a chair up beside the younger girl "Zuko's doing the right thing" Kanna said hoping to at least lift her spirits slightly "We can get you a wheel chair and have your friends push you through the gardens if you'd like" Tiana looked at the woman staring into her blue eyes finally giving in to the womans request "..I'd like that" she said grabbing the first chance she got to forget about what had just happened.

Kanna smiled, patting Tiana on the hand before walking out to get a wheelchair, Tiana tried sitting up and although it took a few minutes she succeeded, staring out the window in the direction he had left in. Kanna re-entered the room with the wheel chair, helping her into it careful not to cause any further damage. "So who's still here?" Tiana asked trying to make the first bit of conversation since Zuko had left "Well most everyone has left except for Sai, and from what I know Katara is on her way back as we speak, she should arrive in the next three days. You know she's becoming quite a skilled healer, extremely gifted and she's just such a fine young la-" Kanna stopped herself noticing that she was boasting about Katara during a time she probably shouldn't be "Yes, she is a very nice girl" Tiana added finishing what Kanna had stopped herself from saying after a few minutes of silence. The two neared the entrance to the garden and saw Sai leaning against the arch leading into the gardens. Kanna noticed how his eyes lit up as they came into view "_I wonder what Zuko would think of this? " _Kanna thought idly, Sai rushed by their side motioning for Kanna to let him take hold of the wheelchair "You two have fun, but remember she needs to be back at the infirmary in an hour for medicine" Sai nodded.

"So...Why'd you stay behind?" She asked not bothering to look at him in the eyes "I..um..." he tried to find an answer "_What do I say uh..well I'm staying because I want to be near you?" _he wracked his brain unable to find a valid answer "You don't have to come up with some valiant answer.. Do you just have no where else to go?" She asked "Um..yeah" He parked the wheel chair beside the turtle-duck pond "Its really nice this time of year...really nice.....weather" he could've mentally kicked himself at that point "_Really?! The weather gosh thats the number one lamest ways to start a conversation!" _ he was pulled out of his mental beating by soft laughter that slowly grew, he couldn't help but join in "Really? The weather? C'mon Sai, we went through a war together I think you can do better than that" she said finally meeting his eyes he plopped down on the grass beside her "Yeah, guess you're right" she continued to smile. which was good.....right? "Umm...during the invasion... when well, you know...did I really..um..." He didn't want to bring this up but just to make sure it wasn't a dream "Yes...yes you did" he blushed "Oh...sorry about that.." she smiled giving him a light punch in the arm "Its fine" the two continued to talk and laugh, all awkwardness just faded away. The two lost track of time and before they knew it the sun was already setting. "Oh no.." Sai said jumping up from where he was sitting "What? Sunset.. You going to turn into a pumpkin now?" she teased "No but you and I might be sharing a room in the infirmary if I don't get you back right now" He said obviously referring to the fact that Kanna just might beat him up if he doesn't get her back soon.

Just as the two tried sneaking back into the infirmary they were stopped by Kanna who stood in the doorway with a irritated look on her face seeming to not fit. "Umm...I can explain!" Sai said, Kanna remained silent waiting for his excuse "Well... umm... you see... We were sitting there minding our own business feeding the baby turtle-ducks when suddenly this giant turtle-duck came out of the water! it took forever but I managed to make it go away" Tiana tried to muffle her giggles but she couldn't any longer when he finished his insane story, Kanna also fought smiling due to the semi-seriousness of the situation so she deepened her frown. "Alright, I'll let you off this time.. But don't let it happen again" Kanna said in a serious voice causing the two to immediately stop laughing. Kanna took hold of the handles lightly nudging Sai away "Thanks Sai...I needed that.." she said smiling while lightly holding his hand before being wheeled back into her room.

Sai watched as the door opened and closed standing there a few minutes before turning to walk back to his room he lazily put his arms behind his head while walking through the large halls lightly lit by the torches that lined them "_Hope we can do that every day" _he thought while having a small fantasy of the possibility of romance between the two, sure he knew he couldn't give her a palace or a title but he could give her love, although he tried to deny it he also knew that Zuko loved her just as much, and he proved that by making the sacrifice to leave her so he could save her... Sai put himself in that position and knew that he would've been selfish and watched her die slowly instead of going out and finding the cure. "Sai?" Sai whipped around dropping his arms by his sides he looked and saw Ursa who's face was lightly shadowed but that didn't hide the distressed look on her face. "What's wrong?" Ursa took a deep breath "Mai and Azula have escaped, we think that they're roaming the castle. I need to warn Zuko so I also need you to watch for me while I contact him" Sai nodded quickly rushing with Ursa into the living room.

She sat with her legs crossed and chanted some spell but he couldn't hear her, smoke rose beneath her, he had never seen anything like it. He pulled himself away from the entrancing spectacle and kept watch in case Azula came in to 'visit' Ursa.

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Zuko and Aang were still flying high and strong through the sky looking for what Ursa had said looked like a 'floating temple' due to the fact it was built on the highest mountain in that region and it sat above the clouds . Aang thought it would've been an easy find if they just looked straight across the skies but boy was he wrong, once they got up above the clouds they became lost but Ursa had given them a cryptic code 'you must be lost before it can be found' Zuko was quite furious at the crazy puzzle although he restrained his anger... until he stopped talking to his mother.

"Zuko, I still don't see it. Maybe we're supposed to stop looking for it in order to find it?" Aang asked "Perhaps s...." Zuko seemed to just collapse on the spot which was strange "Zuko?" Aang asked while looking back and trying to still keep his eyes on the sky. "Zuko!" the young airbender started to grow worried.

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_Zuko found himself in a very familiar place "Mother?" he asked while seeming to float through the fog that surrounded their feet "Yes Zuko, I'm sorry that I had to pull you into the dream like this" she said making her quick apologies "How'd you do this? I thought you could only enter a empty mind when no thoughts are coursing through" Ursa shook her head "Zuko I'll explain later but something has happened" Zuko's heart stopped what if something happened to Tiana? What if she died? And he wasn't there to be with her during her last breath? "Azula and Mai have escaped" while usually upset about this he actually felt a slight bit of relief at the news because Tiana hadn't died "We need you to find the healer and quickly, there's no telling what havoc they may bring to the nation. Right now our nation is fragile and conflicted if she overthrows Iroh then she could take over not legally but she could force them all to listen to her needs and wishes" Zuko listened to his mothers words carefully "We have to turn back, there must be someone else thats easier to fi-" Ursa shook her head again "No! Zuko nobody else can treat her" Zuko would have forfeited the throne for Tiana any day if that meant she'd be alive and well so that meant they definitely had to find this guy "Alright I'll let Aang know" Zuko said finally after a long silence. Ursa moved forward placing a steady hand on her sons shoulder "Don't worry, we'll protect her" she said reassuring him, knowing his worries "Thanks mother I knew you w-... We?" Zuko grew suddenly curious of what she meant by 'we' he hoped to agni she didn't mean "Yes Sai is still with us and Katara will be joining us soon" Zuko's temper flared up but he kept it under control "What about father" he asked trying his hardest not to think too much on the fact Sai was with __**his**__ Tiana "As far as we know he's still in the prison cell at the boiling rock , but Zuko I must leave you now" Zuko nodded closing his eyes and letting himself drift back into consciousness_

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Aang let out a sigh of relief as he saw the Prince or now Fire lord quickly sit up "Good! I thought something was wrong with you!" Aang said while hopping back on top of Appa's neck taking the reigns "What happened?" the younger boy asked "Azula and Mai escaped the cells below the castle, they're not sure if they're roaming the castle or just ran away" Zuko quickly said, anxiety rising and his patience wearing thin 1. because his love was dying 2. his insane sister and crazy ex- were on the loose 3. the worst of all..... Sai was with her. Zuko couldn't stop thinking even for a moment anything other than Sai and Tiana together he was probably staring at her, telling her she was beautiful...Truth was that Zuko didn't really have anything against Sai.... Nope, he was jealous that it was Sai instead of himself. It wasn't fair, he wanted.. wants to be with her, he would've taken her with him hadn't it been for the condition she was in when they left and from what Kanna said, it was only going to get worse over time and the herbs she was giving her were dulling the pain so it'd seem like nothing was wrong.

"Zuko!" Aangs voice boomed through Zuko's thoughts pulling him back into the harsh reality of things "I think I see something!" Zuko crawled over to the opposite end of the saddle so he was sitting beside Aang, squinting slightly he too saw something. It was shining bright and it was gold, the clouds seemed to surround it "I think thats it!" Zuko nodded motioning for Aang to land "_We found it Tiana"._

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Ursa fell to the floor and Sai rushed to her side "Thank you Sai but I think I can manage to stand on my own" despite Sai's attempts to help she proved that she really didn't need it "Sai, I must ask a favor of you though..." Ursa began,Sai sat in silence as he waited for her to continue "I want you to keep this between you and me... I've told Zuko already but I don't want any panic to begin, the last thing we need is chaos" Sai nodded "I understand" Ursa thanked him and he continued his walk back to his room.

He walked over to his bed pulling back the red silk sheets, he'd been given that room about two weeks ago and added a bit of his own touch to it, adding a few pieces of jade here and there bringing some earth kingdom into the room he laid down in the bed putting his hands behind his head and thought of the events that unfolded on this surprisingly busy day. He spent basically the whole day with Tiana, yet still knows hardly anything about the girl with that thought he quickly made a mental note to ask her about herself, anyways after that it turns out the psycho and her sidekick got loose and he has to keep that a secret from everyone including her when they know very well that she's probably going to get targeted 1. because Mai wants revenge 2. they know that the easiest way to get to Zuko is through her.

Sai eventually did fall asleep but instead of thinking about it he dreamt it.....Great

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"Zuko, Where is it? I feel as if we've been walking in circles for the past few hours!" Aang complained while throwing his arms up in the air "Stop complaining!" Zuko roared finding himself losing it a bit "Aang stop poking me,I don't know where it is nor when we'll get there!" Zuko said, not bothering to look at Aang "Uh..Zuko I'm not poking you" Zuko rolled his eyes unamused if the avatar was trying to play a prank "Seriously Aang stop it before I-" Zuko whipped around to see a man clothed in animal skins , poking a wooden spear at him. The man eyed Zuko cautiously before grunting slightly in an obvious attempt at communication "What's he saying?" Aang whispered "You think I know?" Aang thought for a moment before reaching his hand out to shake hands with the man "Hi I'm-Woah!" The man quick as lightning had twisted the Avatar's hand behind his back "Zuko help!" he cried "Let my friend go" Zuko said, taking a bending position. The man growled and yelled out a strained call which Zuko guessed was a battle cry... unfortunately Zuko was right.

Zuko found himself surrounded by three men aside from the one holding Aang captive. All were clothed in similar animal skin attire which did make Aang slightly uncomfortable. Zuko knowing he couldn't take on all these men due to the fact they were all at least a foot taller than him and probably at least three hundred pounds heavier surrendered. The man holding Aang grunted again and the four escorted Zuko and Aang back to what Zuko was guessing to their leader. "I told you I wasn't the one poking you" Aang added trying to make light of the situation, only to be blown off completely by Zuko who ignored him completely.

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Haha! YES first chapter complete...Although I admit I am not that thrilled with this chapter....sadness, ah well alls fair in love and writing :)

Rate review etc so on, be merry and joyful ^_^ (Dunno what's up with that last add-on o_0)


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, so I just got refreshed on the last chapter and I'm ready to start this next one!!

Due to the fact I lost my old chapters there will be no recap, which should be alright since we're only two chapters in :)

Here we goo! (Peter-Pan reference xD)

(I do not own avatar characters+avatar world in any way shape or form...sadness)

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It had been a few hours since the apparent natives of the area had forced them into a large marble room. Aang sat up against one of the large pillars while playing with a ball he'd found. Zuko however was not quite that relaxed, he was pacing back and forth, and every few minutes he'd stop, mumble something and then continue with his pacing.

"Hey Zuko, what do you think they'll do with us?... y'know.. when they come back" Aang asked, staring at the large wooden doors they'd pushed the two through. Zuko looked at Aang with a defeated expression and sighed "I don't know, but if they're not back soon we need to escape.." Aang did a quick evaluation of the room "How Zuko? There aren't any windows, and the only door is that one" he said pointing over to where they had entered. "You think I don't know that?!" Zuko half yelled, losing his temper.

Just then two of the natives walked through, followed by a frail looking old man who eyed the two suspiciously "What are you two doing here?" he asked cautiously Aang looked to Zuko who didn't seem to be about to answer so he did "We're here on a mission to save our .. friend" Aang said, the old man stroked his beard as if in deep thought "Are you now... Many people have come here with that same answer..All wanting someone to be saved" he said through closed eyes before opening them abruptly "But you are not here for someone... You are" he pointed at Zuko who had been staring at the man for the past few moments.

"Yes, I am here for her... " The old man smiled a crooked smile "Good" was all he had to say before motioning for the two to follow him. Zuko and Aang stood on either side of the man, Zuko on his left, Aang on the right. "I see this person has much value to you" he said, leading them through the narrow hallways of the temple "How do you know that?" Zuko asked "Its in your eyes... I see the pain and suffering... So who is it then, a dying old mother or father who you wish the healer to prolong their life, perhaps a wounded brother who will die after a battle went wrong.. Maybe even a sister who was in an accident... Better yet, a child?" Zuko shook his head to each one of the guesses "No..Sir.. None of those, its a girl... she's very special to me and she'll die without your help" Zuko tried not to let his feelings show but it seemed to be impossible to hide the hurt in his voice. "A girl..." was all he could say "How badly do you want me to save her...." The man asked, stopping and turning to Zuko, looking into the younger mans eyes seeming as if he was trying to read his thoughts "I'd do anything.." Zuko said solemnly "I can save her..but you have to prove to me that you really would do anything..." The man continued to lead the two in silence before showing them to a door "This is where you two will be staying... We'll talk more in the morning... Good luck...Zuko" he said before shutting the door behind him leaving two very confused boys.

"How'd he know your name?" Aang asked looking extremely creeped out "I...I don't know..." Zuko replied, not really worried about the fact the old healer knew his name but more worried that he'd told him 'good luck' "So do you think he knows who we are?" Aang wondered, staring at the ceiling "Maybe, I wouldn't be surprised if he knows who you are" Aang let out a sigh "I just hope we know what we're getting in to..... Zuko?" he asked after a few minutes passed and there was still no reply "Oh..Well goodnight Zuko.." The older teen turned on his side "_I hope we do too.."_

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Tiana stared out her window, sitting up with her knees brought to her chest "_Zuko just come back to me" _she thought sadly, she wasn't going to lie, having Sai around was a blast and when Katara came back it'd be even better, but nothing could patch the hole in her heart until he returned safely.

"knock knock" Sai said, easing the door open "How are you today?" he asked rushing over to her side "I'm alright.. Today is a good day" Tiana said trying to sound as cheerful as she could under the circumstances "Thats good... So what do you want to do today?" He wondered, gently stroking her hand in a loving way "I was thinking about visiting Ursa..To see if Zuko has contacted her" hearing this Sai's face fell "_He has..."_ Sai thought to himself "Would you mind taking me to her?" she asked placing her free hand on top of his "Yeah... Anything for you" he said after quickly regaining his composure. "Great!" she said smiling, Sai helped her out of the bed and into the wheelchair, when they were greeted by Kanna "And where do you two think you're going?" she asked with her arms crossed "We were just going to see Ursa" Sai answered, Kanna was thoughtful for a moment before allowing the two to continue.

Sai silently said a prayer so he wouldn't have to take her to see Ursa and she wouldn't have to find out about Mai and Azula getting free "Tiana!" someone's voice then echoed through the halls, Tiana turned her head to see Katara dropping her bags and running over "Katara!" she greeted as the younger girl threw her arms around Tiana "How are you?!" she asked, obviously excited to see her friend "I'm doing alright, I've been better" she answered, trying to sound cheerful "_Thank the spirits" _Sai thought "Sai, do you mind if I steal her away for a while?" Katara asked unsure if he'd allow it "Oh...Sure thing" he answered, stepping back from the wheelchair handles allowing Katara to take hold. "Thanks!" she yelled as she ran down the hall back to her bags.

Sai put his hands in his pockets and wandered the halls until he reached Ursa's room standing in front of her bedroom door he considered whether or not he should knock on her door or not but before he had a chance to fully decide Ursa opened it. "Why hello Sai...Can I help you?" Sai stared at the ground for a few moments "I need to know what's going on with Azula and Mai.. and... If Zuko's okay" the last words he asked for Tiana's sake in case she'd ask. Ursa stood unmoving before motioning him to enter her room "Sai.. I don't know what's going on... The soldiers I sent out haven't returned, Iroh is worried that a rebellion may begin... Even though Azula is crazy she's extremely convincing and that could mean trouble... Zuko hasn't sent word back to me and I can't contact him which means he found the healer" Ursa stated seriously "Well...At least I can tell Tiana she doesn't have to worry about Zuko.." after hearing this Ursa shook her head "No.. Zuko found the healer there is cause to be worried..." Sai gave Ursa a confused look "There's one major ...test he'll put a person in love through..." Ursa began, choosing her words carefully "I'm not sure what it is, but as far as my sources tell me it links the two together, so if she dies so will a part of him, the real Zuko will leave and be replaced with someone without any feeling, he'll be ruthless... " Sai stood "So what can we do?"

"I have a recipe... It may not save her, but it would definitely extend her life.." Ursa began "So she'd be cured!" Ursa shushed him with her hand "I wasn't finished, no not cured, temporarily ..fixed... Like a boat with a hole in it, you can repair it but that wouldn't mean it would last forever" Sai nodded in understanding "I can give you the list of ingredients you'll need, just be careful getting some of them, most of the items on this list are extremely rare so it may take weeks to locate all of them" She said scribbling on a piece of paper all the ingredients needed, Sai snatched the list "I'll get them, I know I can trust Katara so she'll be safe in her care" he said walking over to the door "Oh and Sai" Ursa called out making him turn to look at her "I have an herb I'm having Kanna give to her, it'll give her more strength in case Azula and Mai should attack... be back soon, I'm not too sure how many of these guards I can trust" Sai nodded quickly, darting out of the room with a sudden urgency to complete the list.

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The sun had risen long ago and Aang had finally woken up to find Zuko once more pacing impatiently "Uh...Mornin' Zuko" he greeted, Zuko stopped pacing to look at the young boy before continuing, it wasn't hard to notice the dark circles under the princes eyes "Didn't get much sleep?" Aang asked trying to make some conversation "No" he answered simply, this time not bothering to meet the young Avatars gaze. Before Aang could say anything more the two's attention was drawn to the doorknobs rattling, when a large hairy man walked in grunting and motioning for the two to follow. "Don't these people talk?" Aang asked Zuko, trying to keep as quiet as possible as the large man guided them through the winding halls, Zuko just shrugged not really paying attention on his question, all his attention on where they were being led.

"Ah, welcome" The old healer greeted when the two were lightly pushed into the same marble room they'd been in the previous day "Still not being talkative?" the man asked, not receiving any response once more "Alright then,I'll do the talking... Please direct your attention to this mirror" he said, pointing to a large bronze mirror. Slowly the mirror swirled showing them a very special person "This is your girl is it not?" he asked, the mirror showed Tiana alone in the gardens, throwing crumbs at the turtle-ducks smiling to herself before Katara joined the image talking to her and wheeling her away. Zuko remained silent "I see.. Still silent... what about a peek in the possible future?" he made a gesture with his hand and the mirror swirled once more.

Tiana was shown weakly trying to shade her eyes from the bright sun, a tear seemed to slide off the tip of her nose. Sai then entered the garden in time to watch Tiana clench a fist around the fabric of her shirt and fall forward. Sai stood in place in obvious shock. "_Stop it" _Sai yelled out Tiana's name, rushing over to her, picking her up and stroking her hair showing her a small vial "_No..." _Tiana reached her hand up and stroked Sai's face using her thumb to wipe away a stray tear, she whispered something to Sai before her hand went limp to her side.

Zuko fell to his knee's hands flat against the cool floor a few rogue tears escaping his amber eyes, Aang had never seen the ordinarily strong young man so broken and he wouldn't stand to allow it, Aang clenched his fist and stood in front of the young to be fire-lord "Leave Zuko alone, we've come to seek your help for our friend and all you're doing is making things worse with your peeks into the future, we can't afford to waste any more time, now are you or are you not going to help us?" Aang boomed, shocking the older man with his boldness. "Well its nice to see an actual reaction... Avatar Aang..... I will help you...But first, a link must be made" The man said "What kind of link?" Aang asked, watching the man closely in case he'd try to pull something "An unbreakable bond" Zuko inhaled loudly "How are we going to make this unbreakable bond?" he asked, staring intently on the light brown marble "I thought you'd never ask" the healer replied giving Aang an uneasy feeling.

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So thats all for now.....Its decent I guess :P It was kinda just a bunch of random ideas strung together and formed this xP

Rate and review please I do enjoy the comments! Also I'd be happy to answer any questions on this chapter in case you find it confusing :)

*Oh and to chrystalgoddess if and when a wedding takes place may be a few chapters in the future, all depends on how fast Zuko and the Healer can create this 'unbreakable bond' :)*

RANDOM THOUGHT (yayy) does anybody like the casting for the new Avatar last airbender movie? I like Jackson Rathbone (Jasper from twilight) but I'm not sure he'll make a great Sokka, isn't he a bit too pale to portray Sokka? xP I do hope that Dev Patel (slumdog millionare) does us proud playing our favorite hotheaded prince :)


	3. Chapter 3

So its been a while...A very very extremely LONG time since I last updated (a month maybe? Somethin' like that) so anyway, I've been working on and off on this single chapter continuing to redo it over and over again! It was crazy :P I probably went through three different possible story lines, but I think this is a winner ;)

Moving on now with the story!!

**Btw, if you all didn't know I in fact do NOT own avatar or any of the characters affiliated with avatar**

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ---- (a/n this looks cooler than the line)

_Previously ....._

_Tiana was shown weakly trying to shade her eyes from the bright sun, a tear seemed to slide off the tip of her nose. Sai then entered the garden in time to watch Tiana clench a fist around the fabric of her shirt and fall forward. Sai stood in place in obvious shock. __**"Stop it"**__ Sai yelled out Tiana's name, rushing over to her, picking her up and stroking her hair showing her a small vial "__**No..." **__Tiana reached her hand up and stroked Sai's face using her thumb to wipe away a stray tear, she whispered something to Sai before her hand went limp to her side. _

Sai paced back and forth outside Tiana's room raising his hand ever few minutes to tell Tiana of his decision "_What if she doesn't understand? What if I hurt her like Zuko did?" _Sai finally mustered up the courage, grabbing the doorknob and flinging the door open. Katara flew back against the wall in surprise by the spontaneous entrance "What the? Sai?!" Katara shrieked "I- Sorry.. um.. Katara, can I talk to Tiana for a bit..." Katara nodded, sitting in place "Umm.. alone.. if you don't mind" he said still holding the door open "Oh... right" she said slightly embarrassed, getting up and walking out into the hall.

"What's up Sai?" Tiana asked cheerfully "I...I'm being sent on an errand" Tiana tilted her head in confusion "Okay?" he wandered over to her side , kneeling to the ground "I may not be be back for-" Tiana smiled "I know...Kanna told me" she said simply "But.." Sai wasn't exactly sure what to say, while glad she wasn't upset in any way shape or form, he was a little as strange as it sounds, let down that she wasn't.. Not that he wanted her to be, but he was just expecting more of a reaction out of her. "Well....I'll be gone for a few weeks at the least" she put her hand on Sai's "I know, and I'll be excited to see you when you get back" her voice had no signs of cracking or anything "I'm leaving today" Sai continued still with the small want for her to elicit some sort of emotion showing that she didn't want him to leave her. Tiana smirked "You're disappointed by my reaction, or lack thereof" she said bluntly "What?" Sai asked stunned by her statement "You expected me to be sadder, Sai I don't want you to go but after.... Zuko left, I don't think its possible for me to be sad like that again" Sai was almost jealous at the fact that there still was a pained look in her eye even at the mention of Zuko "I- I understand" he told her "_No I don't understand..." _he thought to himself honestly "Well.. my boat is leaving for Wugou Mu in about an hour so I guess I had better be going so I'm ready to go.." as Sai was getting up he felt the grip on his hand tighten and saw a tear roll down Tiana's pale cheeks "Be back soon" she said smiling "I will be" and with that he left.

Katara re-entered the room "What's mopey's problem?" she asked sarcastically, piling pillows on the ground before taking a seat "Oh, he's leaving for a while" she answered simply, turning on her side to face Katara "Right, the whole 'gathering herbs' thing that Kanna was telling us about earlier" Tiana nodded "Yep, that would be it" Katara smirked "And I gather he didn't like your reaction?" the older girl nodded again "Right again" Katara looked down for a moment "You know, he really is a good guy.. And he's doing this for you" Tiana stared out the window "I know, but I can't help it if I can't love him like I love Zuko" Katara sighed "Well anyway.... How about we go and have some fun in the kitchen, I know some good recipes from the southern water tribe!" she said eagerly standing up to her feet "Lets do it" TIana answered in agreement as Katara helped her into the wheel chair.

"Zuko, this is dangerous... I don't think we should..." Aang continued to warn "I know the consequences but if this should work! Its worth it" Aang saw the desperation in Zuko's golden eyes, he wasn't sure what to say to the future Firelord "So there's nothing I can say to discourage your decision huh..." Zuko shook his head "Sorry Aang...but no" he said while dressing in the robes he'd been given for the ritual "Zuko.. We're not dealing with anything normal! You're actually going to the spirit world!" Zuko placed a comforting hand on the young Avatars shoulder "Aang, I'm sure we've been through far less normal things than this" Zuko said looking directly into Aangs stormy gray eyes "Alright Zuko... If you really are that dedicated to doing this then.... Just tell me what to do" Aang said, determination in his eyes "Thanks Aang"

"We're ready" one of the more civilized guards said from the doorframe, Zuko inhaled and exhaled loudly before putting on his bravest face and walking out the door, following the bulky man to where the ceremony would take place "Ahh... Zuko, you're still going through with this? Hm... I'm impressed by your bravery... although foolish as it may be... I will however give you one last chance to back away from this and find other means of saving her, if it had been any other situation Zuko would've accepted his last request and continued his journey elsewhere "I'm sure" he said in a strong voice "Well then, let the ceremony begin!" the healer called out, his voice echoing through the room. Zuko looked down, noticing the small pendant that was still wrapped around his wrist, remembering when she'd given it to him. "Aang, if something should happen.. I want you to take this back to the Firenation... and I want you to give it to Tiana and if thats not possible...give it to someone who'd cherish it" Zuko said, Aang agreed, although not wanting to think about that as a possibility.

Zuko walked up to the healer, kneeling on the pillow opposite of him. Zuko took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever may happen, the guards drew the curtains making the whole room pitch-black causing an uneasy feeling to form in Aangs stomach, his stomach continued to churn when the guards began chanting some ancient incantation "First, we require a drop of blood from an innocent!" the healer said, staring down at Aang, Aang stepped up to the platform, holding out his hand. The old healer brought out something that looked like a wooden knife but thinner and sharper, he did a quick prick on Aangs finger who instinctively pulled away. The healer motioned for Aang to resume where he previously sat.

The old man tapped the wooden object causing a drop of blood to fall into a wooden bowl, he mumbled something before blowing dust into the bowl. He mashed up some sort of green herb, tapping a small spoon that held some sort of liquid, causing the liquid to drip into the bowl, to Aang and Zuko's surprise, purple smoke rose out of the bowl "Okay Zuko, now empty your mind and.." he held the bowl under Zuko's nose "inhale" Zuko did as he was told and inhaled deeply. "Now Zuko... How do you feel?" he asked, Zuko squinted at the older man "I-I feel... dizzy..." he said, swaying slightly "Perfect" was all the healer said, watching calmly as Zuko fell onto his side. "ZUKO!" Aang yelled running to the platform with worry, only to be stopped by a long staff held in front of his chest "Don't move Avatar... his walk into the spirit world has begun"

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_While this was happening_

"All this so delicious!" Katara gushed at all of the ingredients that were laying on the kitchen counter "They're not even cooked yet and I want to eat it all already!" Tiana smiled from where she sat at the island "Try to restrain yourself from doing that, we need to bake these goodies first" Tiana said smirking "I know, but I still think it'll be hard not to at least sample some of this! I mean, did you even know that the Earth Kingdom something as yummy and sweet as this natural delight?" she asked while popping one of the small clusters of 'goodness' in her mouth, Tiana eyed up the product "Umm...what's that called?" she asked, Katara didn't really look before now "Hmm... it says Tian Shi-tou" as the words left the young waterbenders mouth the older girl couldn't help but laugh "Thats natural alright! Tian Shi-tou means 'Sweet rock'!" Katara's eyes widened at the newfound information, immediately rushing over to the sink rinsing her mouth of the food she'd been previously scarfing down.

"You could've told me before you know!" Katara said with a glare "I could've, but I didn't know the name either" she answered innocently, Katara thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that it'd be best not to argue with Tiana for the fact that TIana could make almost **anything** sound logical "I guess you're right...." Tiana smiled, reaching for one of the cooking books "Want to start with the water tribe recipes?" she asked while holding a light blue book that looked like it'd fall apart any second "Sure!" Katara answered excitedly "And I know the perfect recipe to try!" she said eagerly reaching for the book and quickly scanning each page till she found it "Here it is! Snow puffs" Tiana peered over Katara's shoulder to see what it looked like "Oh, those look great! Lets start on them right away!" she said as Katara looked through the ingredients then going through the ingredients they had laid on the table.

"Oh darn" Katara said while looking down at the book sadly "What's wrong?" Katara looked up at Tiana "Its just that these needed to be flamed last night, frozen and then we could use it" Tiana looked at Katara with a cocked eyebrow "Is that all? Hand me that book" Tiana looked from the book to the ingredients, quickly whipping up the outer shell "Now watch" Tiana lit the metal bowl on fire before blowing on it immediately causing a bit of frost to collect on the top,dousing the fire completely "You should really consider a career in cooking" Katara noted "Now lets get started!!" Katara said looking to Tiana "I feel....funny" the older girl said, giving an odd look to the young waterbender before falling to her side off the chair.

"Tiana!" Katara shrieked as she watched her friend fall to the ground, luckily Sai had been passing in time to catch her from what would've been a nasty fall "What happened?!" he asked worriedly, his bags that lay in the hall were long forgotten "I-I don't know.."

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And thats it.... haha I was working on this for a while and I lost interest then gained interest, then I didn't want to do this chapter and just skip to the next one, because I have wonderful plans for the future of this story! Sorry it was so short though :P . Anyways, rate and review my lovelies, I appreciate your love and support ^.^

(Just letting you people know that there WILL be an eventual background to 'the healer' but I refuse to reveal it right now xP)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello all here is yet another chapter :) Thanks to those who reviewed/Fav/Alerted my story! :) A million and one apologies to how late this chapter is! I was hoping to get it finished sooner but my computer broke so it was getting repairs for like a week! So by the time I got it back my brain was lazy so I didn't finish it :P OH! And happy mothers day :)

Anyways, without further ado here is the next chapter

(I don't own avatar!)

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_Previously_

_"Now Zuko... How do you feel?" he asked, Zuko squinted at the older man "I-I feel... dizzy..." he said, swaying slightly "Perfect" was all the healer said, watching calmly as Zuko fell onto his side. "ZUKO!" Aang yelled running to the platform with worry, only to be stopped by a long staff held in front of his chest "Don't move Avatar... his walk into the spirit world has begun"_

_"I feel....funny" the older girl said, giving an odd look to the young waterbender before falling to her side off the chair. _

_"Tiana!" Katara shrieked as she watched her friend fall to the ground, luckily Sai had been passing in time to catch her from what would've been a nasty fall "What happened?!" he asked worriedly, his bags that lay in the hall were long forgotten "I-I don't know.."_

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_"_She's burning up" Kanna announced while squeezing a cold rag out "Katara,what happened?" Sai asked trying to hide his obvious concern "I-I don't know, one second we were going to bake something and she seemed fine and then she collapsed" Kanna took in the information and a million possibilities passed through her mind "There are only two possible reasons that this happened...the first being that she has somehow gotten a flu or the second possibility being.." the old woman rubbed her weary eyes and sighed not wanting to say the other outcome but she had to as a nurse "Her time may be coming" Sai's heart could've stopped beating in that moment "There's absolutely nothing we can do?" Katara asked , still hopeful "I'm sorry Katara, but no. Its all up to Zuko now..." Sai's hands balled into tight fists as he punched one of the walls yelling out of anger before storming out of the room at the thought that he literally could do nothing.

"_Zuko this Zuko that! There's got to be another possibility! There's just gotta! It can't all just be riding on him! What if he fails?!" _Sai paced back and forth in one of the many formal living rooms "If you keep it up you could make a hole in the ground" Katara said in an attempt at a small joke, but her attempt only ended in failure to bring a smile to Sai's face "I'm still going" he said solemnly, knowing what she as going to ask him "I understand... But I still think you should stay here.... What if Azula and Mai attack?" Sai cringed a bit at the thought but brushed it off "There are guards everywhere... Plus you're a great waterbender, I'm sure you could protect her" he said, placing a hand on her shoulder "If she wakes up and if I'm not there... Tell her that I love her very much and I'm sorry I couldn't be there when she woke up" Katara nodded "I will" Sai smirked drawing Katara into a tight hug "Thanks"

Katara wandered back into the infirmary after saying her goodbyes to Sai. "What's going on?" Katara asked herself out loud. "He entered the spirit realm" the voice startled Katara, causing her to lost her balance. Ursa revealed herself from within the shadows "I'm sorry I frightened you" she said, extending a friendly hand to help Katara up "Thats fine... What do you mean that he's entered the spirit realm? Who?" Ursa sat on the edge of the bed, lightly stroking back a few stray hairs that stuck to Tiana's sweaty brow "Zuko... Which means he's very close to success...or failure" Katara thought about it "What will he encounter in the spirit world?" she asked "Many things, and many monsters. I fear that he will encounter Loki the trickster or the deceitful Keiran, and if they manage to trick him...Its over" Ursa said sadly, turning to Katara "So what will they do? Lie to him?" the young girl wondered "I'm not sure exactly what they'll do, but I know that they need them both together, lucky for two things though. The first being that they can only lie three times each throughout the whole journey, I'm not sure why there's a limit, but there is. And the second being that Zuko needs to find Tiana anyway for him to succeed" Ursa explained "Well...lets hope for the best.." Katara said, trying to stay optimistic "Yes..lets"

Zuko groaned in pain, twisting uncomfortably beneath the cotton tan blanket "Is this supposed to happen?" Aang asked, his grey eyes filled with concern "Yes" the healer replied, dipping a rag into cool water before pressing it against Zuko's forehead "Is he in pain?" the healer sighed "Physically ... Yes, but his mind is in another place" the young avatar plopped down on one of the pillow-seats on the ground making himself as comfortable as possible,knowing that he'd be in there for a while "Oh one more thing Avatar..." Aang directed his attention to the healer, meeting his intense golden eyes "If he wakes up... and he was not successful... Kill him" Aang went wide-eyed at the last part "How will I know if he wasn't successful though?" Aang asked "Trust me....You'll know" the healer pulled back the door-curtain, leaving Aang to tend to Zuko's seemingly rising fever.

"Hello?" Zuko shouted "Is anyone out there?!" Zuko continued to wander through the thick fog hoping to find a clear spot in the grey place "Hello?!" he yelled again "Why hello there!" Zuko let out a shout of surprise, losing his balance and falling on his bum, the person laughed "Silly boy!" the person, if it was a person, said "Who....are you?" The person shook its head,leaning in extremely close to Zuko "Why I'm Ikol! Spirit of guidance, and I'm here to guide you!" she said, the fog cleared and Zuko could see the girl better. She was tall, about right under his chin, she had long scarlet wavy hair, unlike any type of hair he'd ever seen before, her eyes were like to rubies, sparkling in the sun, and the most peculiar thing was the pair of fox ears she had on the top of her head and a tail.

"And who are you?.... Handsome" she asked, circling him, her tail dragging behind a bit before it brushed across his cheek "I'm Zuko" he said formally "And Zuko, what brings you here... For you are not dead nor are you dying" she asked, lust dripping from her voice "Umm...How did you know that?" Zuko couldn't help but feel the blush creeping across his face at how close she was getting "Well... most the people just reek of death... But not you....You smell so......Alive" she said into his ear, adding goose-bumps to his already flushed cheeks "So...I repeat... What... are...you..doing..here?" she asked again, walking her fingers up his chest "I-I-I'm here to find my fi-" he was cut off by an unfamiliar pair of lips suddenly pressing against his own. At first he was surprised, and then he began to try and push her away but soon found she was much stronger than he'd originally thought. When he denied her entrance to further the kiss she bit his bottom lip causing him to gasp in surprise, and she got what she wanted.

She pushed him back against a tree still continuing the kiss, it slowly became more passionate than any kiss he'd ever received before "_What's going on? Its like I can't help myself" _Zuko thought, still unable to break away from the girls advances, they soon shifted positions again, landing on the hard rocky ground. Zuko hissed in pain when one of the rocks hit him in the back, probably penetrating the skin. She drifted down from his lips, kissing his jawline and then his neck . "What... are...you...doing?" he asked breathlessly "Just enjoy the moment" she said into his ear, making him shiver. Her slim fingers toyed with the hem of his shirt, he closed his eyes giving up on trying to ward her off from her actions. One face, one voice, and one girl came to mind... Tiana. His mind shifted through all the memories they had, a few standing out among the rest. "_Zuko what are you doing?" _a female voice asked "_I-I don't know"_ he replied, suddenly Tiana appeared in a misty form "_Zuko, why? I thought you loved me!" _she cried out "_I DO LOVE YOU!" _he screamed, but she couldn't hear him "No!" Ikol jumped back in surprise "What... You didn't like it?" she asked innocently "I-um.. " Ikol let out a sigh "No need to speak, I understand your...commitment...But she's not here now...Maybe we can try this again later" she giggled at the thought.

Ikol started to walk away before turning her head to Zuko "Aren't you coming?" she asked "Where?" Ikol let out a shrill laugh "To get your fiancee of course, silly! Now come on!" she grabbed his hand, pulling him along with her to where a clear path through the smoke appeared Zuko wondered if he should follow, but if she knew where Tiana was then he'd have to take a chance. Uneasiness was replaced with courage and bravery as he allowed her to lead him through the path.

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_Somewhere else in the Spirit World..._

Tiana groaned, turning over. She looked straight up into the skies which all seemed to be clouded over "_What the- Where am I?" _ she sat up quickly making her head spin a bit "About time you woke up" Tiana turned her head in the direction of the voice "Who-" the boy jumped down, suddenly appearing in front of her, placing a finger over her mouth "shh... I'll tell you....Later... But you're much more interesting, you seem...alive, but not by much..not dead enough to be here, so what brings you to my turf?" he asked, tilting his head slightly "I don't know...I just appeared here....Where is here?" the boy let out a laugh "The spirit world of course! Where else?" Tiana couldn't believe what he was saying, could she really have been in the spirit world? "Confused? I can give you answers...If.." the 'If' worried the girl "You follow me" he extended a hand out to her "Tell me who you are first" She demanded in her bravest voice, standing straight up, but still lacking height to intimidate the much taller guy "Ah, well aren't you the fierce one, I'm Nariek" he said pointing to himself, Tiana finally took in his appearance. He had straight dark hair which reached his shoulders, his skin was paler than any other person she'd ever seen before, almost glistening in the little light the shone through and his eyes were so dark and intense it was hard to tear away.

Nariek gave off a smug smirk "You like what you see?" he asked cockily after noticing her staring at him "What?...oh..." Nariek laughed at her embarrassment "Don't be shy....But it would seem you still have yet to tell me your name" he added "My name is Tiana" she said, trying to keep calm with him slowly closing the distance between their bodies "Interesting..." he said, slowly moving his face closer to hers, they both stayed silent for a moment before he pulled back suddenly "Well then, we should be on our way" he said cheerily "You coming bunny?" Nariek asked "_Bunny?" _ Nariek rolled his eyes at her hesitation "C'mon, we've got to get going, we're working on a schedule" he said, grabbing her wrist and half dragging her along. "Where are we going?" she asked "We're going to the floating tree!" Tiana could've laughed at how silly it sounded, Nariek looked back at her, not surprised that she smiled at the name "Silly isn't it? But thats not the real name..." Tiana tilted her head slightly "What's it called?" she asked "Oh.. I don't know, thats why I just call it 'the floating tree'" he answered "Easy enough" she agreed.

"At this pace we'll never make it to the cave by night..." he said to himself after they'd been walking for a while " Cave? I thought we were going to the floating tree" he looked up at her smiling sheepishly, realizing he'd been talking out loud to himself "Oh...We are its just that the floating tree is a ways from here and my sister is meeting us at the cave, she knows the way to the tree much better than I do" he admitted, looking thoughtful for a moment he finally came to an answer "Hop on" he said, bending over so she could easily hop onto his back "What?" he stood up, pulling her close "Hop on, we can get there much faster with me carrying you than I can walking with you at your pace" she cautiously hopped onto the boys back "Good, now two rules. One, if you get sick easily close your eyes" he began "and two?" he smirked a devilish smile "Hold on tight" barely giving her enough time to adjust herself comfortable on his back, he took off into the woods, going at unimaginable speeds. Tiana opened her eyes, watching as tree's blurred past. She let out a small scream when it looked as if the were going to hit a low lying tree limb. Nariek smiled to himself, her little reactions causing him to do so. He was so used to everyone else that showed up not caring since they were spirits already anyway, so this was a nice surprise for him.

"We're here" he said, allowing her to slowly slip off his back, she took in the sight surprised by the water the was directly outside the cave "This isn't like anything I'd ever seen before" she said, taking a few steps forward so she could be on the outside of the cave "Watch it!" he said grabbing her shirt "What?" she asked, pulling her shirt back from him "This isn't on land, this cave was built into a mountain face. So if you would've taken one more step then you would've fallen two hundred feet down to jagged rocks and an unnaturally strong current, then I would've had to save you" Tiana peered out to see he was in fact telling the truth "Oh...thanks..." Nariek rummaged through a basket on the cave floor "She **would** forget to replenish the food..." he said, Tiana walked over to where Nariek stood, looking into an empty basket, not counting the crumbs that lightly coated the bottom "I should go get some food" He announced, walking to the cave entrance with Tiana right behind him, noticing this he turned quickly, placing his hands on her shoulders "You stay, I'll be back" Tiana placed her hands on her hips "I can find food just as easily as you can" she said proudly "Yeah... but, its dangerous... and you're a-" Tiana gave a surprised smile "Because I"m a girl?! Really?! I have seen just as much as you have!" He gave her a serious look "No... You haven't" just as she was about to reply, he was gone.

* * *

"Pick up the pace 'Your highness'" she said, mocking his title, Zuko tried his best to keep up with the girl who surprised him by her stamina, never seeming to be tired "Aww.. Do you need a break?" she asked in a pouty voice, before Zuko's mind could even form words she answered herself "WELL YOU'RE NOT GETTING ONE!" she yelled, stopping in front of him. Zuko couldn't hide the obvious expression of irritation he wore "Did I hurt your feelings?" she asked in the same pouty voice, Zuko's fists clenched before he lost it "You know what! I'm sick of you! You've done nothing but mock me this whole time! AND I DON'T EVEN THINK YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Ikol smirked at his outburst "Whaddya know, you do have a personality! Its about time you let that anger go! I thought I'd be mocking you all night! I actually almost ran out of insults" Zuko couldn't believe what he was hearing "You've been bothering me....On purpose?!" she laughed "OF COURSE! I can't believe it took you this long to react though, a lot more self-control than I guessed you to have" Ikol walked to the other side of Zuko

"Anyway, you're a slow walker, y'know that?" she asked "If you're trying to upset me again, its not going to work" she shook her head "No! Not this time, its just that we could be there if you just let me carry you" Zuko's eyes could've bulged out of his head "You want to carry **me**?! Definitely not!!" he said "Oh well, at least my **brother **can keep your little girlfriend company while we just take our good ol' time getting to the **secluded** cave, if I was you though, I wouldn't trust him" she gave a shrill laugh once more "I mean, I know he's my brother, but he's quite the charmer" Zuko's eye twitched at the thought "_So its either degrade myself to climbing on the back of a __**girl**__ and have her __**carry**__ me to a cave, or have a possibility of Tiana being seduced by a guy I've never met before?....I hate my life" _he thought to himself "Alright..." he said, walking behind her "Hold on tight!" she squealed before taking off full speed ahead towards the caves.

"We're here princey boy" Zuko slowly eased his eyes open, a little sick from the quick movements when he was on her back, he peered into the lightly illuminated cave and saw the back of a girl. She was short and had long shining black hair that reached her mid-back, hearing the intruders her head turned slightly, revealing two beautiful blue-gold orbs staring at him "Tiana" he said breathlessly her eyes widened in shock "Zuko?" Zuko's mouth slowly formed a smile, immediately running over to her bringing her into a close embrace, inhaling her scent "Zuko?- what- what are you doing here?" he pulled back slightly, looking her in the eyes "I found him- I found the healer!" Tiana smiled her famous smile.... Famous in his eyes anyway "Zuko! Thats great! So.. that would sorta explain why we're here... but.. what are we supposed to do?" she asked. Ikol walked in "Thats where we come in" she said,her tail lagging behind a bit to caress Zuko's chin... and make Tiana sneeze. Tiana eyed the much taller girl up she was tall,slender,beautiful face, gorgeous red hair.......Busty.... but something about her seemed wrong, although she couldn't place it, something about the girl made her uneasy "What did you say your name was?" Tiana asked cautiously, hoping that her name would make it easier to think of who she actually was "I didn't" she replied in a high nasal voice "Its Ikol" she stopped by one of the dark corners of the cave "And I suppose you haven't met Nariek, have you Zuko?" Nariek revealed himself from the shadows, standing. Zuko eyed up Nariek who stood about two inches taller than him "No... I haven't" he said cautiously, not trusting the dark seeming character "Well... We should have a proper introduction, I'm Nariek" he said, extending his hand out in a formal way, Zuko stared at the outstretched hand before cautiously taking it into a firm handshake "Zuko"

Ikol clapped cheerfully "Great, you two have met. Now, if we want to get to Ralaets Ecaf Eht by night fall tomorrow then we ought to go to bed!" Tiana tilted her head slightly "Raleet....ralae...Ralats...umm... That place, what is it?" she asked, giving up on attempting to say the strange words "My brother didn't tell you? Well... He has troubles saying it too, he calls it 'the floating tree'" she said, putting air quotes around 'the floating tree', Zuko squinted his eyes slightly in distrust "And what will happen if we go to Ralaets Ecaf Eht" Zuko asked, Nariek mumbled a few jealous words under his breath since he could say the name so easily "This will be all over, and you two will be together in the mortal world once more" Zuko took a deep breath in "Then I guess that doesn't leave us with any other option" Ikol smiled "Wonderful, now you two should get some sleep. Zuko, you can sleep on the cot" she began, pointing over to a small mattress by the entrance "And you- what's your name again? Oh well it doesn't matter bunny, you sleep over there" she said, pointing to another mattress on the opposite side of the cave "And where do you two sleep?" Zuko asked cautiously "We don't, one of the 'perks' of living in the spirit world I guess" Nariek said sarcastically "No, Tiana and I can share a cot" Ikol laughed "Isn't that improper?" she asked, mocking him again, ignoring her, he led Tiana to the cot by the entrance, Ikol scoffed "Fine then, we're leaving. We'll be back in the morning" Ikol tilted her head towards the door for Nariek to follow her "NIght" he said before they both disappeared into the night.

Zuko waited until he was sure the two had left before getting too comfortable on the cot, Tiana snuggled into him, he wrapped his arm around her waist, noticing a bump that was along it, he traced his fingers along it causing her to flinch slightly "Sorry" he said, pulling his hand back "No...its fine, I guess its just sensitive...even here" she put her hand over his to keep his hand on her waist but he still pulled away,moving away from her to sit up "What's wrong?" he ran his hands through his hair "That shouldn't be there...That scar, its my own fault" Tiana sat up, rubbing his back soothingly "No, its not. If anything it is my own, you couldn't have done anything, you were hurt for goodness sakes" he shook his head in disagreement "No,if I would've done the redirection well then I wouldn't have gotten hurt and then Katara wouldn't have been in that position and then you wouldn't have been hurt!" he said, making no effort to mask the guilt in his voice "Zuko, its not your fault. Nothing happens for no reason! Maybe this will be a good thing in the long run" Zuko half-smiled "You think so?" Tiana brought her hand up to Zuko's scarred cheek "I know so" she pecked him lightly on the lips "Now we should get some sleep" Zuko nodded in agreement, laying back down on the pillow, Tiana soon resumed her previous position against his chest "Goodnight Zuko" she said, half-yawning "Night" he whispered into her hair before they both dozed off.

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Thats it yo! I realized that the meeting was kind of short, but I had this seemingly neverending trains of thought for this chapter (which also adds to why its so late)

So yeah.... Rate and Review lovesss =]


	5. Chapter 5

So I was thinking that you guys might have issues pronouncing some things from the last chapter so here's a guide on how to say it!

Relaets ecaf eht ( A/N this is the correct spelling of the name, for some reason I wrote R-A-L-A-E-T-S when its an R-E)

Ikol and Nariek

Relaets Ecaf Eht is prounounced Rel-I-Ets E-Caff Eh-ts ( sounds kinda tribal xD)

Ikol is pronounced E-cole

Nariek is pronounced Nah-Rye-Ek

So thats how it is if you guys were having issues with the names.. :P

I guess its been a while xP But I've been re-inspired and I'll try to write a lot! ... Maybe xP

_**I DO NOT OWN AVATAR OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!**_

_**(I do have rights to Sai, Tiana, Ikol, and Nariek)**_

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**_

_Previously _

_"That shouldn't be there...That scar, its my own fault" Tiana sat up, rubbing his back soothingly "No, its not. If anything it is my own, you couldn't have done anything, you were hurt for goodness sakes" he shook his head in disagreement "No,if I would've done the redirection well then I wouldn't have gotten hurt and then Katara wouldn't have been in that position and then you wouldn't have been hurt!" he said, making no effort to mask the guilt in his voice "Zuko, its not your fault. Nothing happens for no reason! Maybe this will be a good thing in the long run" Zuko half-smiled "You think so?" Tiana brought her hand up to Zuko's scarred cheek "I know so"_

Zuko opened his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them "_what?" _ he looked down to see what the weight was against his chest when all his memories came flooding back, smiling he pecked her on the forehead causing her to stir "Morning" she greeted tiredly,not bothering to open her eyes "Morning" he couldn't help but stare at the girl who he hadn't seen in weeks, and now there she was in his arms "stop staring at me, its creepy" he let out a short laugh "I can't help it, you're just too beautiful" she blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light, Zuko's form slowly came into focus, then looking around the cave "Where's Nariek and Ikol?" she asked "I think they're still out" he said while brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Actually, no" Ikol said, stepping into the cave "We've been waiting outside for you two to wake up, quite patiently waiting I might add" Nariek tossed two apples at the pair "What's this for?" Zuko asked, eying up his apple for possible poison that they may coated it with, his inspection was cut short though when a crunch sound drew his attention, beside him Tiana was munching away greedily at the apple, not seeming to mind or care if there was possible danger in eating the fruit "What?" she asked with a half mouth full of food "Its not poisoned" Nariek confirmed "You can trust me on that" Zuko was still unsure as to if he should or not "Listen, the faster you eat, the faster we can get going, so if you won't eat it, I will" he said, half-joking, half-serious "Fine" Zuko took a small bite, but soon his hunger took over and he eventually devoured it within a few minutes.

"Good then! We can get going the 'The Floating Tree' " Ikol said, adding air quotes around the name "We'll be goin' on foot so it could be at least a two day walk since you two will need some rest" she added "If I may interject, we could go much faster, I mean...I could carry Tiana after all, she's light" he added with a wink, Zuko looked to Tiana for her reaction, but she failed to give one "We could, but then someone would have to carry Zuko, and I don't really want to be that person...Unless you want to carry him Nariek" Ikol teased "Umm... walking is good too" Ikol smirked "Alright, well we're burning daylight so lets go" Zuko stood, taking Tiana's hand and helping her to stand, the four exited the cave "Alright, here's the question. Do you want to scale the wall yourself or one of us to carry you, and when I say one, I actually mean Nariek" Ikol said, shielding her eyes from the light "Well its probably-" Tiana walked over to the wall, ignoring Zuko "I'll go first" she seemed to have a few problems starting but Nariek helped her by giving her a slight boost... by pushing her up by her butt, although she didn't think too much on it, Zuko grumbled to himself, nudging Nariek out of the way and following Tiana up the not before turning to Nariek "Touch her like that again.. And I'll fry you" he warned "Sure you will.." Nariek smiled to himself, knowing that he succeeded in ticking Zuko off.

"This is kinda fun" Tiana noted while still scaling the wall "I guess" Zuko replied "There something wrong Zuko?" she asked "Uh...I-..no, everything is great" she flashed him a smile "Good, hey! look! We're almost at the top" before Zuko could respond, he saw that Tiana had grabbed hold of a loose rock and didn't give him a chance to react "Tiana!" he yelled as he watched her fall. "Oof!" he heard her say, were they not as far up as they had thought? "Be more careful,don't want to ruin your cute little self ,bunny" he pulled her onto his back, Zuko was unsure as to if he should be upset that when he caught her, he caught her by the waist, or just be glad that she got saved...a mixture of both sounded about right, Nariek quickly passed Zuko on the wall, disappearing over the cliff-side with Tiana, earning more angry grumbles from the fire-bender.

"Hurry it up Zuko, or you're going to be the last one to the top" Ikol teased as she slithered around him to snake her way to the top. It wasn't too much later till Ikol's prediction came true when Zuko pulled himself over the side with only slight trouble "What were you doing down there? Having a picnic?" Nariek asked mockingly while holding his hand out to assist Zuko who ignored his help, standing up on his own glaring at the boy the whole time. "_This is like Sai all over again" _ he thought to himself, standing beside Tiana. "Well, if you ladies are ready to go then... We should probably go" Ikol said, tapping her foot impatiently "Fine" Zuko replied, shooting a death glare at Nariek before taking hold of Tiana's hand, pulling her closer "Great! Lets go!" Ikol began walking towards the open forest not five feet away, looking over her shoulder to make sure the three were following her. She laughed to herself when she saw Zuko keeping Tiana as close to him as possible without causing them to trip, all so Nariek couldn't get too close "_Wonder who I should feel sorrier for... Nariek, Zuko, or Tiana?" _ smiling to herself she came to a quick conclusion " _Tiana, hands down"_

_Back in the Firenation_

Katara gently knocked on the wooden door, announcing her presence to the seemingly empty room. The smell of herbs filling her nose as soon as she walked into the hospital room. "Sai sent you a letter.." she said gently, taking a seat beside Tiana who lay motionless in bed "Would you like me to read it to you?" she asked as if she would receive a reply "Alright.. I will"

_Dear Tiana,_

_I hope you're doing fine back in the Firenation, like in all my other letters, _

_I'm sorry for having to leave you there... It was a difficult decision for me to make but to save you I'd do anything. _

_Ursa told me that you're doing great! And that the fever has gone away which is good, and Azula and Mai aren't_

_being any issue... Yet at least. Which means you're safe from them which is a huge relief for me to know._

_My journey so far has proven to be successful and I'm almost done collecting the_

_ingredients needed to make the medicine to help you. I just need to collect this one_

_here in the mountains of the North Pole, and then I'm off to the_

_Earth Kingdom and then the final ingredients back in the Firenation somewhere... Then back to you._

_I think about you every day._

_Love you._

_-Sai_

After finishing reading the letter, Katara neatly folded it back, placing it into the envelope and putting it on top of the small pile of letters he had previously sent in the past three weeks. "Are you excited?" Katara suddenly asked "For Sai to be home soon? ... I know I am! It seems so quiet around here without him.. " she waited in silence for a moment before sighing "This isn't working... I read that if you talk to a person in a coma that they can hear you but.. .I don't think that you can.. I wish you could though.. I miss you, and I'm going crazy around here! In fact! Just earlier today I started a conversation with a flower! " She exclaimed, her voice echoing around the room "Tiana... Just come back..."

"I think we should stop soon" Nariek announced suddenly, the three in front of him turning to face him "And whys that? We're already a few hours **behind** schedule" Ikol complained, accentuating the fact that they were behind "Well we wouldn't be if you hadn't run off to chase that one spirit!" Nariek spat back "He started it!" the two were almost literally butting heads at this point "No, you did!" he retaliated "He did!" she repeated "You did!" Tiana and Zuko stared at the two in disbelief "Now that I think of it... Who did start it?" Tiana whispered "Hmm.. I don't really remember.."

* * *

_*Flashback* _

_"Ahh! We're making great time!" Nariek said, placing both arms behind his head in a relaxing pose "For walking..." Ikol added "Now there! You just had to ruin it with your stupid negativity!" Tiana and Zuko could only try to ignore the bickering siblings, the four continued on for a bit longer until Ikol heard something, her ear twitched and she turned her gaze to the deeper forest, squinting slightly when suddenly something jumped from the bushes, surprising them all. Zuko pulled Tiana behind him, holding firmly onto her arm in a protectively._

_"A-... An old man?" Ikol shrieked in horror at the chubby old man floating in front of her, they all stood silent before Ikol nearly fell over in a fit of laughter "HE'S SO UGLY AND CREEPY!" She shrieked, gripping onto her stomach. Zuko and Tiana just stared on in confusion "A spirit?" they both questioned "Yeh, they show up every once in a while... Usually because they can't cross over fully.. which means he must've done something... Really, really bad" Nariek said threateningly, freaking the two out "But most likely, he just strayed from the path" he added, Zuko was about to punch him when the old man floated closer to Ikol, bringing his hand closer to her "Y...Ya..." Ikol eyed him curiously "What is it old man?" she asked dully "This is odd... they usually don't speak.." Nariek commented "Ya...Ya..." his hand reached closer before finally resting it on Ikol's chest "YATA!" he exclaimed ,lightly groping her, Ikol didn't have time to slap him before he dashed off into the forest, laughing the whole time "Why you... PERVERTED OLD MAN!" she screamed, running after him "No- Ikol! Come back! We can't waste time doing unreasonable things like this!" Nariek yelled after her "I DON'T CARE! I'M GOING TO GO FIND HIM AND THEN KICK HIS ASS!" _

_Nariek sighed "I guess we'll all just have to wait here until she comes back.." _

* * *

"ehh...I guess it was both of them" Tiana said, finally coming to a conclusion "I guess so" Zuko answered in agreement, the two looked onto the still feuding pair "HIM!" "YOU!" HIM" "YOU!" they yelled back and forth "Enough.." Tiana suddenly said, walking between them "Both, he was a pervert and you over-reacted. Now, its getting dark so we'll camp for the night and leave early tomorrow" she shook her head "And to think, you guys are the ones leading us.." Tiana brushed past the stunned pair, unloading a blanket from a backpack she'd taken from the cave.

"Ah... whatever.. I'm going to go for a walk" Ikol said defeatedly "She means pout, but I'll follow too. Goodnight" Nariek said, running after his sister.

"Very impressive" Zuko complimented, making his way over to where Tiana sat on the blanket carefully placed on the ground "I try" she replied, winking at him making him smile "Did I tell you how much I missed you?" he asked, sitting beside her "Umm.. yeah, a few times" Zuko blushed slightly "But... Once more wouldn't hurt" she later added "Good then... I missed you a lot" he said, moving closer "I missed you too.. Zuko" she whispered before he kissed her tenderly, after the kiss she rested her head on his shoulder, staring up at the night sky.

"Who would've thunk, eh?" she said suddenly, breaking their silence "Thunk? Alright, I'll bite. Who would've 'thunk', what?" he asked, half-mocking her choice of words. She playfully punched him in the arm before explaining "Well..You know, that of all places to meet again.. It'd be in the spirit world!" Tiana exaggerated her statement by waving her arms in the air "I guess so... " Zuko's attention suddenly became more interested in the blade of grass in front of him then Tiana's words. She suddenly appeared in front of him "What? Did I say something wrong?" the word 'worried' could've been stamped on her face in bright red in that moment "No.. Its just.." he sighed "I still wish it could've been on better circumstances" sitting back, she drew her knees up, leaning into them with her arms crossed "I agree... But, we'll make it through, right? I mean... We're tough!" sitting up suddenly she lifted her arm in a 'fight' position, Zuko gently pushed her arm down "You're not as tough as you think you are so... Please be careful, with whatever! Promise me that if something bad happens you won't try to be brave, but run!" his grip tightened slightly at the thought "Zuko, you know very well that I can, and will not promise that. Remember, you can't be selfish! If I can do something to save your life... I will." tilting her head slightly, she locked eyes with him and smiled brightly "And I damn well expect you to do the same!" Zuko returned the smile, removing his hand from her wrist and laying back, she joined him, nuzzling closer to his chest.

"Um... Zuko, can I tell you something weird" she asked, after she stopped nuzzling him "Uh.. sure" he was worried as to what she would say suddenly "You're not as warm as usual" she stated but seemed surprisingly worried by it "Umm... I don't think I understand what you mean" did she mean he was acting cold towards her? No... he had been especially 'affectionate' dare Zuko use the word, since he'd seen her "Your body temperature" she poked his chest "Its almost a normal temperature... very unlike a firebender" she continued "I'm still not understanding how this is a problem... Its probably just got something to do with the fact that we're in the spirit world" Tiana nodded her head in agreement "I guess so... But still, it worries me a bit... " Zuko, using his free arm to lift her chin up "I really think you should stop worrying... as cute as you may look while doing it" his words earned a smile "You're right... I'm probably just over-reacting" he released her chin, kissing the top of her head "Alrighty, goodnight then" he said, yawing "Goodnight.. Zuko"

* * *

_Back in the real world_

"! !" A young messenger yelled, running through the long palace corridors, Katara emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes in the annoyingly bright sunlight "Yes?" he bowed, holding a letter above his head for her to take "A letter, from the avatar!" he took multiple deep breaths, trying to regain it after speeding through the whole palace. Katara reached down, carefully picking up the light yellow envelope, reading Aangs name she held it close to her "Thanks!" she then ran back into her room pulling it closed tightly.

_Dear Katara,_

_From what I know, and what the 'healer' has told me, Zuko's doing what needs to be done._

_Apparently time moves differently in there, so what may be a whole day to them is really only about six hours to us!_

Half closing the letter shut to where the first crease was, she pulled it slightly away and Katara's eyes widened in shock "_So they're living four days for every one day for us!" _she thought to herself in disbelief at the thought. She re-opened the letter, curious as to what else the young avatar had to say.

_Knowing you, you probably were just really shocked... I was too!_

_I really thought he was joking around with me but then again..._

_he doesn't seem like the type to 'joke around' , he has the creepiest stare!_

_Although you'd probably start laughing if you saw him since I just told you that ... _

_I hope you guys are all doing well.. Oh and sorry this is the only letter I've sent!_

_With a place thats near impossible to find you have to imagine how difficult it is to convince him_

_to let me send you a letter... or rather send a letter at all! _

_In fact, when I asked him if I could send him a letter, d'ya know what he told me?_

_'No, if you want to so badly, go find a way your self'_

_After begging... And begging... and begging... I finally convinced him! Although.. I think _

_I was actually just annoying him and didn't actually convince him. Just reply back to the return address!_

_Anyways, I have to go before the 'healer' tries to read this! _

_Bye!_

_-Aang_

_P.S- Don't you agree with me that its a bit odd that he hasn't told us his name yet?_

Katara flopped back on the bed, reading and re-reading the letter over and over again "It is strange" Katara said out loud while staring up at the bright red canopy top "_Why wouldn't he.. won't he, let us know his name?" _she thought to herself, carefully folding the letter back up to the exact crease, rolling over and placing it on her nightstand. "_I guess we'll just find out eventually, one way or another" _Katara pulled her legs over the side of the bed and stretching before she went back out into the empty halls.

"_I guess nobody is awake at this time..." _ She made her way down to the palace's infirmary suddenly noticing why nobody was around. "_Oh yeah" _ she said to herself, remembering that it was 'orientation day' where they instruct the new employees where to go and such. She took a quick mental note of the new staff, there were four new maids. One was tall, black hair, gold eyes, and short hair, you'd almost mistake her for a boy if not for her elegant stance and long feminine eyelashes, although unlike most firenation people, she seemed to have a slight tan. The second was slightly shorter, black hair that was tied up into a messy bun, and brown eyes"_Must be from the earth kingdom..". _The next was a girl of the same height, black hair that reached her waist,golden eyes,like the first girl, she also had a slight golden tint to her, and thick, dark-rimmed glasses. Katara looked closely, noticing an earth symbol on a hairpin that held her long hair back into a loose ponytail. Finally the last of them was shorter, deep brown hair, light blue eyes, and shoulder-length wavy hair "_Wa-water tribe?" _Katara couldn't believe that there was another water-tribe person in the palace! The only other being a chef, but that was only because Iroh loved diverse cooking... and that would include water-tribe food, along with Earth-Kingdom and of course Firenation, heck, Zuko even managed to find a chef who specialized in baking old recipes created right from the air-temples! The book had been saved by one of the soldiers who searched the temples for any survivors who rescued it and gave it to his youngest daughter who wanted to be a chef! And she later passed it on to him.

"_I'll have to talk to her.." _Katara thought to herself, bringing her mind back on topic, continuing to walk down to the infirmary.

* * *

_Next day-Back in the Spirit World_

"We've been walking for- FOR-E-VER!" Ikol complained... again "If only we could use our spirit given powers and we'd be there by now!" Nariek shook his head "You know that we're not allowed to do that!" he yelled to her from the back of the group "Why not?" Tiana asked, turning her head to him "One, I don't think Zuko's ego could suffer through it" Tiana giggled at the thought, and Zuko just began to sulk "And two, on this journey its a requirement that you guys go at it on foot"

The sound of rushing water suddenly grabbed the fours attention "What's that sound?" Zuko asked as it slowly got louder "Would you believe it if I told you that it was 'Eien no mizu'?" he nodded his head "But.. What does that exactly mean?" she turned suddenly,slithering around Tiana and getting close to him "Eternal.. Water" she whispered seductively causing his face to heat up in embarrassment, and Tianas too... Just in anger... "Silly names, but thats what we call them" she added casually.

Tiana was about to say something when suddenly she was hit by a vicious coughing fit that brought her to her knees "Tiana?" Zuko yelled, putting his hands on both of her shoulders. He began to lightly pat her on the back, she had one hand up at her mouth while the other just gripped at the dirt, shortly after, it stopped. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly "Umm.. yeah, fine. Don't worry about it, ok? I just got something stuck in my throat" Zuko. not believing her at first just kept on staring "Seriously, don't worry about it. I'm fine now" this time she smiled "Stupid girl, holding us up because you get something stuck in your throat... pathetic" Ikol scolded while throwing her arms behind her head in a resting position, continuing to walk forward.

Tiana got up quickly thus losing her balance for some odd reason, luckily though Zuko was still there to catch her "Careful where you step" he simply warned, helping her up.

After about twenty more minutes of walking the four reached the base of the 'Eternal water' and boy did it live up to its name! They all stared straight up and the waterfall top just disappeared into the sky "Isn't it a beautiful site?" Nariek asked "Yeah... Gorgeous!" Tiana agreed "Yeah, it is" Zuko nodded, reaching out his hand to take hold of Tiana's "Eh... once you've seen it once, its not so special anymore" Ikol said casually "Always the pessimist" Nariek mumbled, while the two began yet another argument, as soon as Zuko's hand made contact with Tiana's, she immediately pulled back, startling the fire-bender "What?" he quickly lifted his hand up to inspect it for any weird deformities "Its nothing, its just that I coughed into this hand so I'm going to wash it off first" Zuko let out a relieved sigh "Oh.. alright" Ikol nodded in approval at the thought "Alright! We'll stop here, get some water to drink from the waterfall and then continue on!"

Tiana waited for Zuko to make his way to the base, also watching where Ikol and Nariek were, then went to the far end of where the trio all sat, quickly dipping her hands into the cool water "_Why.. how.." _she stared down at her hands in the water, rubbing them together to scrub off the blood that stained her right hand that she coughed in to "_I haven't had an attack like that since... No, maybe Im over-thinking it.." _Zuko watched his future bride closely, watching as she stared blankly into the water "_Since that incident, she hasn't spoken a word to me other than to explain why she'd pulled away.." _Zuko scrubbed at the dirt on his hands harder "Woah... watch it, you might burn a hole into your hand if you keep scrubbing like that" Nariek joked. Zuko was going to retaliate when Tiana shrieked. He sprinted over to where she sat along the bank, sitting in a defeated position.

"What's wrong?" he asked, dropping to his knees and pulling her hands away from her face "I-I-I" Zuko clenched his fist "I can't understand you if you don't speak up!" he didn't mean to be harsh but thats the way he was "I-I c-c-can't b-bend any m-more!" Zuko's grip on her hands slackened "What do you mean?" he hoped she was kidding "I mean, I can't bend! I tried, over there in the water!" Zuko refused to believe it "No, it must just be the water!" she shook her head "No! I tried firebending too! Nothing!" Zuko inhaled sharply "Look, see I can still-" Zuko snapped his fingers, expecting there to be a light but... Nothing. "I-I-I" Zuko looked to the ground, wide-eyed

"_I can't bend" _

* * *

Voila! Chapter for you guys! I jes' got SO lazy that I almost gave up on the story! ... Seriously, I did -.- I was totally preparing myself to write up a letter explaining how I don't really have time for it nor am I any longer interested in the story . I'm so weird sometimes lol, truth is, I'm excited to see what happens! The characters are kind of leading me right now!

Small details, Yatta (probably wrong spelling T.T) is basically a happy japanese expression meaning 'yay' ... xP

Anyways. I'll start on another chapter tomorrow but who knows when it'll be out -.- sorry, I blame my procrastination! Also, I've set an expectation of myself, and there will be AT LEAST 18 chapters, like the first. :)

Oh btw, what do you think of...

1.) The 'Healer' not having a name?

2.) Tiana coughing up blood?

3.) Them not being able to bend

4.) The new maids ^.^

5.) THE PERVERTED OLD MAN! XD I couldn't resist -.- I had a really odd out of place thought and HAD to use it.. Sorry if it disturbed you T.T


	6. Chapter 6

Ta-da! I am back for another chapter ^.^ Maybe I'm not so lazy after all! (no, I really am. I give myself too much credit sometimes :P)

Oh and I just noticed the typos *many mental kicks over my lack of noticing typos the second time around T.T* so I apologize :(

So anyways as always I **DON'T **own avatar (tear) or anything related to it!

ONWARD!

* * *

_Recap:_

_Tiana waited for Zuko to make his way to the base, also watching where Ikol and Nariek were, then went to the far end of where the trio all sat, quickly dipping her hands into the cool water "Why.. how.." she stared down at her hands in the water, rubbing them together to scrub off the blood that stained her right hand that she coughed in to "I haven't had an attack like that since... No, maybe Im over-thinking it.." Zuko watched his future bride closely, watching as she stared blankly into the water "Since that incident, she hasn't spoken a word to me other than to explain why she'd pulled away.." Zuko scrubbed at the dirt on his hands harder "Woah... watch it, you might burn a hole into your hand if you keep scrubbing like that" Nariek joked. Zuko was going to retaliate when Tiana shrieked. He sprinted over to where she sat along the bank, sitting in a defeated position._

_"What's wrong?" he asked, dropping to his knees and pulling her hands away from her face "I-I-I" Zuko clenched his fist "I can't understand you if you don't speak up!" he didn't mean to be harsh but thats the way he was "I-I c-c-can't b-bend any m-more!" Zuko's grip on her hands slackened "What do you mean?" he hoped she was kidding "I mean, I can't bend! I tried, over there in the water!" Zuko refused to believe it "No, it must just be the water!" she shook her head "No! I tried firebending too! Nothing!" Zuko inhaled sharply "Look, see I can still-" Zuko snapped his fingers, expecting there to be a light but... Nothing. "I-I-I" Zuko looked to the ground, wide-eyed _

_"I can't bend"_

_

* * *

_

Tiana for some reason found herself unable to stop crying "_Is all this really because I lost my bending?" _she wondered. Zuko released her hands, making fists, rising up to stand, towering over her "What the hell is going on?" Zuko demanded "I already told you that you couldn't bend" Nariek stated calmly "WHAT?" Zuko's knuckles almost turned white due to how tightly he was clenching his hands at his sides "Don't give me that bull shi-" Nariek suddenly cut him off "One, Zuko, I'm ashamed at you for beginning to use such obscene language in the presence of a lady" Ikol flipped her hair back with her hand "You flatterer" He shook his head "Not you Ikol" She nearly fell over in humiliation "What do you mean I'm not a lady?" she was nearly steaming, "Not now, anyways, don't you remember?... Back at the cave?" Zuko's glare softened as he thought about what Nariek could've said.. "_Hm..." _

_

* * *

*Flashback!*_

_Zuko grumbled to himself, nudging Nariek out of the way and following Tiana up, but not before turning to Nariek "Touch her like that again.. And I'll fry you" he warned "Sure you will.._

* * *

The memory popped into Zuko's head "WHAT? THATS HARDLY YOU TELLING ME... US, ANYTHING!" Nariek shook his head "tsk tsk tsk, I always did hear that spoiled princes had tempers like a fire-cracker, one light and.. *pop*" Zuko took a step forward, ready to land one on his soft jaw when something tugging on his shirt caught his attention. He looked down and locked eyes with Tiana, looking thoroughly broken down "Don't... Please, lets just leave" he kept his fist clenched for a few moments longer before finally unclenching it and helping her up "Alright."

"Great! Now that, thats settled we can be onward!" Ikol said with a trace of amusement in her voice "So dear brother of mine, what is the estimated time of arrival or.. The e.t.a?" he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and Zuko idly wondered if he was trying to be funny or something "Well, if we keep up this pace.. and you keep chasing old men then it might be about... three ... maybe three and a half days?" Ikol rolled her eyes "Great! Just fantastic!" she ran a hand through her tangled scarlet locks "We're already a day and a half behind! AND YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE **I'M **THE PERVERT!" Nariek sighed, knowing that they weren't getting anywhere fighting like this "Okay, Ikol, you're not the pervert... Just really annoying, okay? Now, lets get on before it we get even further behind" Nariek said, moving to the front to lead, Ikol was stunned, unable to speak she just followed as her younger brother led them past the eternal falls.

"So, what do you both plan on doing when you get back to the mortal world?" they looked at each other lovingly, each knowing the answer "We're going to get married" they said in sync "Pah,I could've guessed that one" Ikol scoffed from the back. "Thats nice, do you have a date set?" he asked, trying to keep the lighthearted conversation up "Yes" "No" after hearing eachothers answers the two stopped, clearly stunned by one another "You picked a date?" Tiana asked "Well.. not exactly, but when I get back and return to the firenation, thats when, right? I'll go on with my official coronation and then we can be married" Tiana shook her head "No, I don't think thats the best idea... With Azula and Mai on the loose, who knows what can happen! And she does like to make an entrance, what better time than during a wedding?" The half-fox girl smirked deviously at the sound of the lovers spat "_How I do love arguments" _Zuko looked at her, gripping onto her shoulders "But... what if something else happens.. What if they don't attack? Then what? We'll never get married?" Tiana saw as insecurity crept up in his eyes "Of course we will!.. How about this.. If they don't attack by my eighteenth birthday in the fall... Then we'll be married in the Winter" Zuko smiled, obviously content with the conclusion "Alright" he planted a small kiss on her cheek "I love your logic" she smirked at his compliment that was said almost too often "I know" she removed his hands and turned him around, pushing him lightly on the back "Now lets go! Times a' wastin'" Ikol sighed, obviously disappointed that the fight didn't escalate, and followed on in silence.

"Hey, Nariek?" He turned his head slightly "Yeah?" Tiana moved up a little closer, unsure as to if she should still ask "Well, I was wondering... What's your story?" he looked down at the significantly shorter girl curiously "I mean... I mean... Why are you here?Like how did you become a spirit here?" the question obviously catching him off guard "Its not a pretty story though" he said darkly "Thats okay" she urged him on "But.. Its a long story also... I'm not so sure if you'd want to listen,it took me and Ikol to be literally stuck in a hole for her to want to really know to pass by the time" Tiana laughed slightly "Thats fine... We have a while" rubbing his neck absentmindedly, he shrugged "Alright...but try not to get too distracted and watch where you step"

"Well.. I've been here for a while.." he began "How long? fifty years?" he smirked "Try one hundred and twelve" Both Zuko's and Tiana's eyes widened in shock? "one hundred and twelve?" they repeated,both incredulous to the information "You're kidding right?" Zuko asked "Nope, well its actually one hundred twelve years, four months, and sixteen days.. There's nothing better to do around here other than count" Nariek added almost shyly and cleared his throat. Continuing his story.

"I was born into a long line of military, even the women in my family served in the military at some point, usually as nurses though. My father was General Mang of the Firenation army. For this reason I rose in the ranks fairly quickly, I became Lieutenant Mang within my first year in the service. Being only 19 I strived to be the best, working hard during my training surpassing many of the older more skilled men within a short time... Then we were off to war.

* * *

_*Flashback*_

_"Lieutenant Mang!" a young private yelled as he made his way through the anchored vessel "Private Jee Chen" he announced his already obvious presence with a salute. He was surprised by the unkempt state his commanding officer was in, his shirt was unbuttoned,the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his military jacket was lost somewhere inside the dark room where the small gas-lamps light couldn't reach "Yes private, what is it?" he answered, clearly uninterested toying with the rim of his crystal glass filled with fire-whisky. The young man bowed,the young Lieutenant took in his appearance. He was probably only seventeen.. "__**damn, they're hiring younger and younger nowadays**__" he thought idly to himself "Umm... Lieutenant?" The young Private called after he had spaced out "Oh..Sorry, what were you saying Private Chen?"the nervous private shifted back and forth "Captain Zhong wants you to report to him immediately, he has important information to discuss with you" The young Lieutenant nodded at the even younger man "Is that all Private Chen?" he asked, Chen nodded "Okay, tell the Captain that I'll be up in ten minutes. You're dismissed" The Private nodded, bowing to him before exiting to give the reply to the Captain._

_He'd admit even, he'd gotten a little lazy since they'd just been drifting for the past few months, nobody heard a word from the nations capital, they just continued to float along with the current with minor control over which direction they were heading "Give your men a break and head West" The letter read, he couldn't help but to chuckle at the thought "Break they say, sure we trained hard but thats nothing like the kind of action most soldiers get... Besides, aren't there more fleets out there much more deserving of this so called 'break'?" He asked hiimself in the empty room as he fumbled around for his jacket. Finding it he pulled it on, carefully buttoning each button correctly, and making himself as proper as possible. Straightening out his jacket he continued out the metal door of his cabin._

_The sun was a lot brighter than he'd thought "__**Its still daytime? Damn... Maybe I should open a window or something...**__" he thought as he made his way to the bow of the boat where the captain would be. "Lieutenant Mang" a fellow officer greeted with a salute "Lieutenant Siu" he said, returning the salute. Both men stared at each other for a moment before smirking "You look like shit" his friend, Jon Siu said "Don't you get any light in there? You haven't looked so bad since training "he said while pretending to examine his friend, he and Jon had gone through training together as well as both getting promoted together. He's only two months older than Mang but still hangs that over him. The two laughed at the memory "Eh... Not really... I prefer to keep my curtains shut, besides you didn't look much better. If I recall didn't you throw up over the side of the boat the first day?" he retaliated with an equally embarrassing tale "Hey, that was once upon a time. Pre-sea legs" he said, lifting each leg in a comical manner. _

_"So where are you off to?" Jon asked "To see the Captain, something about important news" Jon smiled "Same here, maybe we're actually going to get in on some of the action finally!" he stated cheerfully "Yeah, maybe!" he said while the two began walking towards the bow again._

_After the two men finally reached the door to the captains quarters the two did a once over of each other, straightening each others jackets out before knocking. _

_"Come in" the old mans voice was raspy from all the years of yelling at his crew. *click* the two stopped at the door, unsure of what that 'click' noise was "nine minutes, forty eight seconds... I'm impressed,in all honesty I thought you two weren't going to make it" he said while closing his bronze pocket watch, dropping it into his breast pocket, he stood. Way taller than Lieutenant Siu who was about 5'10, but was about the same height as Lieutenant Mang who stood around 6'2. "Have a seat gentlemen" he said, clasping his hands behind his back, doing as ordered they pulled out the two leather seats in front of their Captains desk "Do you know why you two are here Lieutenant Siu?" the young man shook his head, his face devoid of emotion "No sir, all we were informed of was that you needed to discuss important information with us, sir" Jon did pretty much everything but salute. "Good, so you were paying attention then." he reached into his pocket, pulling out a bronze key and slipping it into the keyhole in his desk pulling out a dark red folder with the royal crest printed in gold on the front. "From the Firenation palace" he said placing it on the cherry wood desk "Go ahead, read it." both still unsure, Jon reached out for it and looked it over, his eyes flickering from disgust to horror to confusion and then to nothing once more, handing the packet to Mang who had a similar look on his face but keeping up with the final emotion._

_"Sir, this is murder" he said, speaking up for the first time since arriving "I know, but orders are orders. We move out tonight"_

_*Flashback end*_

* * *

"And so we followed on with orders" Nariek said "That was also when the Private was killed" he added darkly, not caring whether this was a 'bad' time to ask Tiana went on with her question "Wait...when you say nomad...You don't mean that you were one of the first fleets to attack the Western Air Temple" Tiana asked, hoping for the best "No" he replied simply, Tiana let out a relieved sigh "We **were **the first" Tiana couldn't contain her sudden anger as emotions came flooding in, making a fist and coming up beside him to land one but he stopped her fist, twisting her arm behind her back, blushing slightly "Sorry... " he apologized, releasing her "Memories... brought back old reflexes" she exhaled "I'm sorry too..." silence soon followed the awkwardness.

"Umm..So how did **you** die, you never told us" Zuko asked suddenly "If I didn't know any better I'd say you would get some sort of twisted kick out the story if I told you... However,since I wasn't actually done with the story...I'll tell you"

* * *

_*Flashback* _

_"Okay men, this should be fairly easily but still... be on guard! Don't underestimate anyone, anybody thats not firenation will be killed on sight, and if you don't... Then you will be killed in their place. Understood?" Admiral Huo asked "Yes sir!" the men replied "Lets go then!" _

_"Alright men, follow us closely" Lieutenant Mang and Lieutenant Siu commanded, slowly leading their men into the temple as stealthily as possible. Mang and Siu both peered out behind a pillar, waving his hand forward Siu signaled for their group that it was clear to continue, they continued to prowl through, finally reaching a courtyard where they saw at least a hundred airbender's meditating. Mang pointed in what looked like random directions for his squadron to take place in but really it was part of a well devised plot thought up by the two. _

_***double Flashback* **_

_**"And so, if the airbenders are too busy meditating and Mang and I combine our forces then boom!" Siu yelled, bringing his fist down to where he'd carefully placed a few fish egg pods to resemble the airbenders, smashing the small fish eggs "Hmm..." the Admiral looked over his layout a few times "I think we can afford this... Besides, Captain Zhong things it could work and I trust in his opinion so... you have your permission" Siu nodded happily, carrying out his makeshift battle layout.**_

_**"Yatta!" he exclaimed, walking out of the small war room they created aboard the larger vessel containing the soldiers from the surrounding area "I take it that he agreed?" Siu nodded with excitment "Yeah! And Captain Zhong apparently approved of it too! Wahaha" Mang rubbed his eyes at his odd friend "You have such a weird way of expressing your joy" he stated bluntly "But did you really have to squish up those fish eggs? Your hands a mess now, and so is that board" Jon stepped back, shocked he would question his methods "I don't think you realize how much you've hurt me just now... But anyways, yes, I did! I really think thats what sold him on the idea! NOW! We have to perfect our ambush!" he said, putting his fish-egg hand on Mangs shoulder, deciding it better to just ignore it he agreed, allowing Siu to guide him back to his room to drink in celebration and to think up a great plan" **_

_***double Flashback over***_

_*Flashback... back__*** **_

_The men were all in position and the airbenders remained unsuspecting "Okay, first fleet. Go!" Siu whisper-yelled "CHARGE!" Private Jun announced as they stormed through the entrances, surprising them airbenders, in the panic women scooped up their children, running them to safety "Second fleet, go!" Mang yelled, louder than Siu had before him. The second fleet cut off anyone trying to escape through the other side. Screams of panic filled the air. The air began to swirl around the officers sending them flying against the walls, the impact killing them. "LETS GO!" Siu almost screamed for them all to do the final strike._

_Adrenaline pumped through Mangs and Siu's blood as the fights ensued, each bending fire at the airbenders banding against them. Taking them out with ease. Meanwhile somewhere else but still close to the young Lieutenants, noneother than Private Jee Chen was standing before a young child searching for her mother, panicking slightly, he scooped the girl up, hiding her beneath his coat and escaping out the archway they had previously stormed through "B-b-b-but m-m-m-y m-m-m-mom!" she screeched only for his hand to clamp over her mouth "Answer me this..." fear clear in her eyes she nodded "Where are you from?" he asked "I'm from the northern water tribe! We're j-j-just visiting! Honest!" he nodded "Alright, I'm going to go look for your mother.. What's your name?" she thought, at first unsure if she should answer him or not "My name.. its Kiara" he smirked, thats a beautiful name he complimented "I have a younger sister, hers is similar to yours. Its Kanna .. My parents were inspired by the water tribe" he wiped a stray tear from her cheek "Now, I'm going to look for your mom now" _

_Jee searched through the crowds for a water-tribe woman, lucky for her she had been crouched behind a pot, her eyes scanning the scene for her young daughter. He sprinted over so nobody would see them, although luckily everyone else was too caught up in the battle to notice him, or her for that matter "Ms... Are you looking for your daughter? Kiara?" He asked, startling her when he popped up in front of her suddenly "Y-y-yes, where is she?" she asked desperately "Don't worry, I found her. Come with me" he held his hand out to her, taking his coat off and handing it to her, she eyed the young man up. He was handsome to say the least, but it was the innocence and lack of war experience that made her believe him "Alright" she put the coat on and he snuck out the archway with her. _

_"Mom!" Kiara yelled! "Kiara!" she ran over to where her daughter sat in the war balloon "Now you two better get going" he assisted her in getting into the balloon "Its simple, pull this lever to start it, this one to turn, and this one to go down" she nodded at him gratefully "Come with us" the question took the young private by surprise "I-I-I can't... Just go" Kiara's mother placed her hand on Jee's "But, what if they find out you helped us" he smirked "Don't worry about it" Kiara ran to the edge as her mother began working with the controls "I'll never forget you!" she said, kissing him on the cheek. "I don't think I'll forget you either" he handed his tags to her "Keep it" he closed her small hand around it, she ran her fingers over the delicate carving of his face and name into the tag. "I'll cut you guys loos-"_

_"Tsk tsk tsk... I'm surprised at your loyalty private... or rather lack thereof" Jee whipped around, meeting eyes with Mang, without a second thought he pulled out his sword, slicing the ropes and letting the two drift away "Just let them go!" he yelled "Why? You've already done that" he said darkly "You know the consequences Private, sorry its just... business" _

_Kiara screamed as her mother piloted them away, hiding in the clouds she couldn't help but stare back at the scene. "JEE! JEE! JEE!" Kiara screamed before her mother placed a hand over her mouth. The two watched as his superior slowly got closer to him, pulled out his sword and holding it towards Jee's chest, then running him through, Kiara's mother quickly twisted her around to face her chest and not see as Jee hung loosely on the sword "Monster" she whispered to herself, tears falling for the man she didn't even know yet still spared their lives at the cost of his own. She continued to watch in horror as he kicked Jee off the sword and allowed his body to fall to the ground. Closing her eyes she made a silent prayer for him, releasing her daughter who immediately ran to the side, hoping to see the young private but failed. "Jee.." she whispered, still clutching onto the army tags "__**If I ever have a daughter... I"ll name her Kanna, just for you**__" she thought to herself as they disappeared into the sky._

_"We won!" Jon beamed while Mang just cleaned off his sword "Everyones accounted for eh... Almost, we've lost twenty four men, all bodies have been recovered... Except Private Jee Chen's... I asked around and everyone says that they didn't see him at all during the battle, do you know where he is?" Mang nodded "Oh, good. Where?" he asked, looking around the corner as if expecting Chen to be hiding, waiting to jump out and scare him "He's dead" Jon's smile nearly melted off his face "Wha- Dead? Which of those bastards killed him?" anger filling the place of joy, Mang merely met eyes with him "This one" he said simply, looking back down at his sword "Don't screw with me" meeting eyes once more he realized that his friend wasn't kidding "You... Why?" finally content with the sword he put it back in its holder at his side "He helped the enemy, I'm just doing my job" he said coldly, brushing past his friend. _

* * *

_"_You killed him?" Tiana shrieked "Yes, and do you realize how bad you are at listening to stories? Please keep all commentary to yourself" with a roll of her eyes she just stood back and listened as he began his story telling again.

"So we had just conquered the Wester air temple, which we thought was hard... Boy, were we wrong... The Southern was at least twice as difficult..."

* * *

*_Flashback*_

_"What do you mean an old man is protecting the entrance? I WANT HIM TAKEN CARE OF!" the Admiral demanded, throwing a fist down on the table "Yes sir, we'll have our finest pitted against him" Mang answered, bowing as he left the room. He was met by Sui who had been leaning against the wall on the outside of the war room "How did it go? By the sound of his voice I take it he didn't like the news that an old geezer was defeating his men" that was Sui, always trying to be funny. Mang gave a light laugh "Yeah, isn't that the truth? Now we have to go get our finest" he said with a sigh "Wow, they just don't give us a break!" Sui said while lighting up a cigarette over the side of the boat "What do you mean?" Mang asked while leaning against the railing where his comrade stood "I mean, he wants us to take on this old touch guy by ourselves of course" Mang knitted his eyebrows together in confusion "I don't think I understand" Jon let out a lighthearted laugh "Well we __**are **__the finest after all" he joked, smiling cheekily. "Say we would take this.. Gyatso on, just us and maybe three or four others... How would we go about it?" Sui smirked deviously "I think I like where this is heading" patting Mang on the back "I think you and I will be gooood friends" he said as he walked with Mang back to their own war room... a.k.a Sui's room with an endless supply of liquor "Aren't we already good friends though?" he asked questioningly "Erm...Well better friends anyways" _

* * *

"And crazy enough, like most of our other far-fetched plans, it was approved by the admiral and we took down the old airbender, but unfortunately, I died during that final battle" Tiana tried not to but she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of joy after the pain he'd caused, it was almost like his 'just-desserts' or the saying goes something like that anyways "The old man stabbed me right through, there was a hole in my gut. But that sparked an unseen anger in my old buddy and he made the final blow against the old man" he smiled at the memory of his friend "I remember spending my last moments with Jon...He was a fantastic comrade in arms, and an even better friend. We were more like brothers actually, we understood eachother... I just wish I knew what happened to him... He most likely died in the war though." he spaced out as all the memories of his and Jon's charades came flooding back.

"Ummm... Oh great leader Mang" Ikol taunted, grabbing his attention "We're here" he shook off his previous thoughts and led them to what seemed to be a path right beneath the water fall. Nariek came to a sudden halt causing the three behind him to nearly walk right into him "Okay.. Now... Ikol is going to take the lead, so you will follow her exact steps if we're going to get through here, alright?" The two merely nodded in agreement. Ikol stepped forward, cracking her knuckles as if this were to be a battle that was going to be won "I need you to pay very attention, I just hope you both are agile enough." Zuko inhaled deeply "_So do I_"

Ikol took two normal steps in, hopped, did what seemed to be a backflip,back-tuck,sprinted and leapt what looked like eight feet.

"You've got to be kidding me" Tiana said, stepping forward "Ikol, you weren't supposed to show off! This needed to be easy and simple" Nariek scolded from the other side, Ikol just lifted her hand to cup around her ear as if she couldn't hear him, he mumbled something under his breath before nearly shoving Zuko out of the way and standing behind Tiana "Okay, here's the layout."

"This path isn't all connected, there's two platforms that are right in front of us, at least that provides us with a good start. Then, the next four spaces are all empty so you'll need to jump over that. Following is platform,space,platform,space,platform,space,space space,space, platform. And finally there is just eight feet of open air you'll need to leap across" Tiana nodded "Got it" she was getting ready to go when he grabbed her shoulder "Oh and one more thing... The other side, its higher ground" she drew in a quick breath "Fannntastic"

She crouched down in a sprinting position, "_1" _the swayed a bit "_2" _Zukos nerves were going haywire "_3!" _she took off, repeating the steps in her head "_Two platforms here" _the fog cleared as she stepped on each one "_four empty spaces" _she propelled herself off the side of the last platform, almost missing the next one "Alright Zuko, go!" with a nod he followed her exact steps, although the long legs were definitely coming as an advantage for jumping over the spaces "_This is a lot more slippers than I would've imagined... then again, we are under a waterfall" _Zuko thought to himself. "_Great! She's almost there!" _Tiana had finally reached the final platform, taking a deep breath she leapt. Zuko reached the final platform almost as soon as she'd propelled off the side.

Nearly missing she held onto the side and hoisted herself up. "Great, now you go Zuko!" Nariek said from the platform behind him "Alright" Zuko met Tiana's eyes, both nervous as to the possible outcome. Taking the leap of faith he reached out for the side of the platform, just barely grabbing hold. Tiana let out a relieved sigh "Good, you made it to" but right when she reached out to help him over the side a earthquake sent her tumbling over the edge, a tiny bit of the ground coming loose and falling down for what seemed like forever.

Natural instinct caused Zuko to reach out for stable ground with one arm, the other holding onto Tiana. Everything happened in an instant, Zuko yelled for Nariek and Ikols assistance but Ikol was nowhere to be seen and Nariek had been knocked out cold by a rock that came loose beneath the falls. "C'mon Tiana! Hold on! I'll try to hoist you up" he lifted his arm that was holding onto her up towards the cliff side,the earthquakes gave them no assistance though as another one boomed through the area, knocking the ground that they were hanging onto loose. Zuko lost his grip and they both began to fall, Tiana reached up for any sort of stable ground, finding what seemed to be a cave in the side, grabbing hold she let out a cry as Zuko's weight suddenly pulled on her arm, she continued to try and lift Zuko up to the side, grimacing each time she tried.

"Tiana, let go!" he yelled to her "No!I can do this!" he shook his head "No, you can't!" she refused to believe him, shaking her head like a child "Yes I can!" she screamed while in tears from the pain and the situation"Tiana" Zuko said calmly "You said to me, that I can't be selfish by asking you to sit back and wait things out, and that if I was in trouble and you could help it... You'd do something, and then you said you expected the same of me... Now I'm doing as I said. You're in trouble, and I can do something about it!" he attempted to slip his hand from hers but her grip only tightened "No! Stop trying to do that" she begged "I'm sorry" he brought up his other hand pulling her wrist away, making her grip slacken and she let go.

"ZUKO!" Tiana screamed as she watched almost in slow-motion as he plummeted down into the mist, she almost missed the arm jet out, grabbing hold of the young Firelord. Zuko looked up in disbelief "Jet?" the boy smirked "The one and only!

And voila! I actually did like how this whole thing turned out :) Mostly anyways... SUPER LONG CHAPTER THOUGH! Which makes me VERY happy since when I first started it I thought it was going to be one of those annoying 'I can't believe I wasted my five minutes reading this' chapters (I've felt that way before) ^.^.

* * *

So what did you think of Jee Chen saving Kanna's mother? Yes, thats the one! Kanna, as in Hakoda's mother as in Kataras Gran-Gran! I thought it'd make an interesting work-in :) AND OMIGOSH! JET IS BACK! The reason I brought him back is because.. I LOVE JET! Yes... Its true, I had a secret crush on him during the show T.T (and Zuko too teehee xD) but anyways, I might kill him off again LOL! But then again, I might work him in ;) Or maybe I'll even... Bring him back to the real world .!

Okie review pweeze,as I've said before they really keep me going! It gets me more revved up to make chappies ^.^

OH! And Meerkatgirl13- I don't think I will give this up at this moment at least! I'm kinda fired-up about it! Teehee, thanks for the review :) It made me smile.

*Last time I'm uploading this, I was getting annoyed since the little separator/border things weren't working and so I fixed it and re-uploaded it*


	7. Chapter 7

Hey thurr! :)

Okie dokie then, it would seem that I have managed to slightly mess up a time-line. I set Tiana as 16 at the end of my last story which had ended right at the end of the war which means that it was still Summer. So we're going to pretend that it was the end of the Summer season (which is quite possible) so she turned 17 already which puts us up at like... mid-fall, yeh yeh yeh, one more year xD. (I shall speed that up so epically -.- maybe :P)

Anyways, I don't own avatar or anything avatar related, etc. etc. etc... etc.

Alright then! Back to the story ;)

* * *

_Recap-_

_"Tiana, let go!" he yelled to her "No!I can do this!" he shook his head "No, you can't!" she refused to believe him, shaking her head like a child "Yes I can!" she screamed while in tears from the pain and the situation"Tiana" Zuko said calmly "You said to me, that I can't be selfish by asking you to sit back and wait things out, and that if I was in trouble and you could help it... You'd do something, and then you said you expected the same of me... Now I'm doing as I said. You're in trouble, and I can do something about it!" he attempted to slip his hand from hers but her grip only tightened "No! Stop trying to do that" she begged "I'm sorry" he brought up his other hand pulling her wrist away, making her grip slacken and she let go._

_"ZUKO!" Tiana screamed as she watched almost in slow-motion as he plummeted down into the mist, she almost missed the arm jet out, grabbing hold of the young Firelord. Zuko looked up in disbelief "Jet?" the boy smirked "The one and only!_

_

* * *

_

"Jet?" Zuko asked again still skeptical that they were actually seeing the past leader of the freedom fighters "Uh, yeh" Jey confirmed, assisting in pulling Zuko over the side to safety. "Why are you here?" Zuko asked, not being able to tear his sight away from the boy "Because I died of course!" Jet started walking deeper into the cave "You two comin' or not? We'd better hurry though!" running into the darkness without a second thought. Tiana and Zuko both shared a look of uneasiness before deciding to follow him. Zuko grabbed Tiana's wrist, pulling her along behind him, she winced at the increased pain running through her arm but shook it off so she wouldn't hold the two back from catching this odd guy.

"There's a light up there!" she told Zuko "Yeah, I see it... I bet thats where he's living!" Zuko seemed to speed up at the sight of it and in no time, they were within Jets home "Welcome to my humble abode" Jet said with his arms stretched out as if showing off the area. There were a few things, a makeshift bed out of things from within the forest, tables he probably carved himself during his time here, and a few other miscellaneous things, some that didn't seem to fit. "You've made a life here?" Tiana asked while cradling her right arm and inspecting a statue of a.. Wolf? Jet scoffed "Life? Hardly. Even here I'm a refugee" he joked "What do mean by that?" Zuko asked, moving to stand beside Tiana "I mean, I'm running away from these two... 'people' who keep trying to capture people who are just trying to cross over to the other side!" Tiana tilted her head in confusion "Why would they do that? Aren't those people already dead?" Jet moved closer to the girl "Not exactly, those people who wander, or are about to cross over are technically stuck in limbo, they're dead in the real world but here they're stuck in limbo. Now these two that I'm running away from, they're leading these people to their master and he's feeding off of them and then when he's done, they get to consume whatever part of their soul that he left for them"

Jet eyed Tiana up causing both Zuko and her to become uncomfortable "I noticed you were in pain" he said suddenly, brushing her hand out of the way to reveal her arm which looked warped "Oh jeez... At least its a fairly easy fix... Zuko, you might want to lend a hand... literally" Jet made him hold onto her left after she'd removed her tunic leaving her in a simple white tank which Zuko thought was quite attractive at that "Bite onto this" Jet handed her a white handkerchief that was neatly folded into a rectangle shape. Nodding she took the hankie in between her teeth. "Are you ready?" he asked, nodding she prepared herself "I'm going to count to five, alright?" Zuko ended up holding onto her hand tighter as his nerves went crazy. The slight pressure he began to apply made her tense "One" the two readied themselves "Two" he suddenly moved his hand in a quick motion, popping the shoulder back in place. Her eyes went wide and her body tensed, closing her eyes tight she let out a scream, muffled by the handkerchief. "Doin' better now?" Tiana looked up at the young man with teary eyes, only able to nod "Good! I'll go get some ice... search for some anyways" he said walking off.

Zuko carefully removed the cloth from her mouth "Are you alright?" Tiana gulped "Yeah... It helped a lot. But my shoulder hurts like a mother" Zuko smiled, kissing her forehead "Well, I'm glad you're better anyways"Jet returned shortly after "I found some" he announced, waltzing over to the two with a small brown bag filled with ice and a leather strap to hold it in place. She winced slightly as he adjusted the strap around her shoulder to fit. "There, that should do it" he said, stepping back to examine his handiwork "Thanks" she said, rotating her shoulder a little "So... Why didn't you cross over?" Zuko asked while helping Tiana up to stand. "I could ask you two the same thing" he said with a wink "We're not dead" Jet looked at the two curiously "What do you mean... Not dead" Jet couldn't believe what he was hearing "Its exactly as I said, I mean we're not dead. As in we never died, I'm-We're here on a mission" Jet rubbed the back of his neck "Interesting... Well, I guess I'll tell you why I'm here now.."

* * *

_*Flashback*_

_"Wh-where am I?" Jet wondered as he began to wander through the forest, finding a clearing he followed the path "Right... I died... This must be where I cross over..." he continued to walk along the path, noticing a shining light up ahead that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "I guess this is it" he took another step before being cut off by a beautiful,scarlet-haired, busty female. "Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity you know" Jet shrugged, not seeming to be bothered by the person who came out of nowhere "Eh, but everyone's a little bit insane" the woman cocked an eyebrow "I like you kid, where you headed?" she asked "Well... I guess I'm going to cross over now. I did die after all" the woman cackled "Well you're going the wrong way, I'm here to guide you" she whispered seductively "But... no, I think I can find it fine on my own, thanks" Jet moved away from the woman. "You don't trust me?" she asked with false innocence "Of course I don't, here you are. This beautiful woman, in the middle of the forest. Sorry but things like that don't happen to me and end up with a nice ending" she wrapped her long fingers around his wrist, the other entwining in his messy brown locks "I'm harmless... " she whispered in his ear "Its funny but I'm doubting that" he said simply, pulling her away. "You're really killing me kid" she whimpered "Sorry, but I just don't give a damn" he replied coldly, deciding it might be better to change paths. "Don't you dare walk away from me" she demanded "Listen lady I just am not interested in whatever you're trying to sell, sorry" she swirled around him, suddenly appearing in front of him and packing him into a tree "But... " she began, dancing her fingers along his chest "I can lead you there" Jet smirked "What? You find that funny?" he shook his head "Then uh... what is it?" she whispered "Strike three" was all he said, whipping around and pushing her into the tree "Wah?" _

_"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO THAT FOR?" She glared menacingly at him "What's your name?" he asked calmly "My names is Loki!" as the words left her, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands "What is it?" he asked again "Its Loki!" she clenched her fist angrily "__**I used up my three lies already?**__" she thought to herself "I knew it, only the devious fox demon would try to trick people. I've heard your tale a thousand times over, you didn't stand a chance" Loki could only do one thing at that moment "Its a shame though, now I have to kill you!" she screamed, leaping at him. Jet dodged her with ease, taking off into the forest._

_"Keiran, what're you waiting for? Grab him?" the two dashed past Keiran and a young girl "Keiran? You told me your name was Nariek..." she girl shifted back and forth uncomfortably, his eyes darted between the two running off and the young girl "Oh for the love of Agni!" he lamented, Jet looked back at the two to see the guy, Keiran, literally sucking the girls soul up, her body fell to the floor and deteriorated before their eyes into a flurry of dust, disappearing completely . _

"And then I jumped into the waterfall, landing in here. I've been trying to save as many souls as I could since then" Tiana shook her head back and forth as if trying to shake something out "Hold up now...When you talk about this Red-haired woman, thats **the** Loki? As in, Loki the trickster?" she asked "Yeah, one in the same, and that guy, Keiran, he's quite devious himself too so if you meet up with them, do not underestimate what they're capable of" he warned "I...I think we've already met with them actually..." she admitted "We have?" Zuko asked earning a nod "When?" messing with a piece of hair she asked him a simple question "What's Ikol backwards?" he thought about it for a moment before coming to the simple conclusion "Loki" his eyes widened in shock and so did Jets "You guys met with them and they **didn't **try to kill you?" still twirling the small section of hair with her fingers she refused to meet the boys hard gaze "Well... No, technically we're traveling with them..." Jet ran his hand over his face "You're kidding right? You didn't agree to let them guide you... Did you?" they both were as guilty as could be at that moment "This is terrible!" he said, flopping down on the bed "You have to follow them to the Face Stealer's Cave now! Beneath the floating tree!" the two met eyes "Eht Ecaf Relaets" both coming to the same realization "We've been duped!" Tiana lamented, flopping down on the bed beside Jet "But... Where are we **supposed** to go? I mean... I just don't understand!" she screamed in frustration "You guys don't even know where you're going?" he sighed, sitting up "Well... Now you do need to go to see the Face Stealer... It might be best if you pretend you know absolutely nothing, go along with whatever they say, and keep in mind that they can't lie more than three times. Two times wasted on telling you the wrong name and that they're your guides, not sure how they'd use the last one but be careful, they're both extremely sneaky" The couple nodded. "And be extremely careful around the Face Stealer,okay? I'd hate to find out that he's done something awful"

* * *

Jet exhaled loudly "Well... You two should leave by tomorrow morning so they won't find you here and kill us all... So you're welcome to stay tonight, there's a small area back there" he said, pointing around the corner "Where some of the falls leaks through creating a bit of a bathing area, if you want to use it" he said, obviously directing it towards Tiana "Thanks, I will" he tossed her a tunic "I don't have towels but you're welcome to use that... Its clean" smiling she took it graciously, going to where the bathing area was.

"Well, there's no need to wait up, you should get some shut eye, Prince Zuko... Or rather Firelord now, I heard about the war ending. The spirits up here are all gossips" he joked "Yeah... I'm just relieved its finally over... " Jet tossed a blanket and pillow to Zuko on the surprisingly comfortable 'couch' "Thanks" he said, yawning "Night Zuko" he said, leaving the cave.

Tiana entered the room revealing a beautiful natural bath, the water rushed down without too much pressure right into a large oval, filling it up and creating a bath. The water from that probably ran out back into the falls thus never over-flowing.

She kicked off her black boots, followed by her socks, then pants and white tank. Soon she was just in her bindings, she thought for a few moments whether she should remove them or not but finally decided against it. Dipping a toe into the water she was surprised when her flesh met with warm water, slowly wading in she sighed as she felt the water surround her whole body. She sunk deeper into the water, allowing only the top half of her face to be seen above the water.

Sitting up slightly to rest her head against the side she gently rubbed her temples to rid herself of a nasty headache. "_I wonder how everyone is doing back in the physical world..." _she thought absentmindedly while picturing Katara probably being bored out of her mind, Aang worrying about Zuko and about everyone else for that matter, Sai was probably hard at work, collecting all the herbs he needed to find, Katara's Gran-Gran was most likely trying to make herself as useful as possible and volunteering around the infirmary whenever she could. "_I wish I was with all of you..."_

* * *

_Back in the Physical world_

***WEEEOOOO* **the steamers horn went off, surprising many of the passengers who made a sudden mad dash towards the boat to make it on board before they closed off the dock "Mommy, what's that on the roofs?" a young girl asked, pointing up at a figure who was flying across each roof to get to the steamer "Its just a man running across the roofs honey" she said smiling before her eyes went wide "_No, I'm not dealing with that today" _she said to herself, shaking her head and continuing on through the market with her young daughter in hand.

_"Dammit! If that old man would've just traded with me for this stupid herb quicker I wouldn't possibly be missing my transportation!" _Sai thought angrily as he sped across the city roofs "Final boarding call!" The captains deep voice boomed through the harbor "I'm going to make it!" Sai jumped from the roof, not wasting any time as he pushed through the crowds and onto the boat, when he finally made it he rested by putting his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Alright son, boarding pass?" he asked dully, Sai reached into his pocket, presenting the letter that Iroh had given to him "Oh..Sorry sir!" he said, suddenly becoming more active "Welcoming aboard!" Sai thanked him, happy that he could take a small break since the next place he was visiting was at least a four days travel to get to.

Sai whipped his bag around to rest on his shoulder as he went through the boat, searching for his room. "_102?"_ he checked and double checked the number on the tag attached to a bronze key before sticking it into the door, twisting it slightly.

The room was nice enough, it was big enough too walk around in, which was good. There was a twin bed set in the right side of the room and a wooden desk in the left with a metal chandelier hanging above a rug in the center of the room. He set down his bags on the wooden table beside the door before flopping down onto the surprisingly comfortable bed.

"_Only two more weeks till I'm back in the fire nation and three more till I'm back in the palace..." _he thought to himself . It was about two hours before the annoying bellhop would come and tell him that dinner was going to be soon "_Thats about enough time to take a nap.." _Sai turned to his side, dozing off soon after.

_**Exactly two hours later.**_

*_knock knock* _Sai opened one eye to stare at the door "Be right there" he said while throwing his legs over the side of the bed and tiredly walking over to the door and opening it to reveal a young bellhop probably only sixteen "Uh... Hello sir, I was sent to inform you that dinner is in fifteen minutes and you'll be dining with the captain..." the bellhop said, Sai nodded "Alright, thanks" he tossed him a tip before shutting it, kind of rudely, in the boys face while he was half-way through a 'thank you sir'.

Sai rummaged through his bag for his jacket and formal clothes "_I still have no clue why they make me dine with the captain whenever I'm on these kinds of ships..." _he thought wearily to himself, not looking forward to another boring dinner. He quickly changed, exiting the room with five minutes to spare.

* * *

_Somewhere in the world..._

"This plan is ridiculous" a slightly raspy voice said "But it could work" another voice piped up "Yeah, its got possibilities..." a intellectual voice agreed, a high-pitched cackle then rang out "Of **course** it'll work" footsteps glided across a wooden floor and the sound of a hand slamming against a table filled the small room, the three immediately stop their talking "I mean afterall, I had quite a bit of time to figure this out.." the person reminded them. "But... What if it ends up being a bust?" a male voice asked "We run and plan again, simple as that... " the man nodded "Alright then... When will this all take place?" the person smiled wickedly "After we set up... We strike when they least expect it...And create chaos" the woman said stabbing a knife through a newspaper that sat in the center of the table.

_The Firenation Times- _The newspaper read in dark font.

_"With the war ended citizens worldwide are unsure as to what to do with their lives, _

_Young Fire prince, Prince Zuko, has done very little to reassure our people of the official safety of _

_our recovering nation. Prince Zuko had recently made an announcement to our nation before setting off onto his _

_journey to a location which he has not revealed. All he told us was that it was to save a life. The even younger Avatar, Avatar Aang, joined_

_him on this, as some would call, 'quest'. Hopefully the wise Avatar can offer the Prince some wisdom as to how to _

_successfully rule a nation._

_His uncle who is standing in his place as temporary Fire Lord is doing as much as _

_he can to keep things in order until his_

_nephew can return. "_

A picture of Zuko graced the cover, the dagger now sticking in his head. "You're wicked... Azula, future firelord" he added in mock formality earning a devious smile.

* * *

_Back in the Spirit world._

Jet soared through the trees, leaping fearlessly down the neverending waterfall and back into the cave. He tip-toed back into his 'house', careful not to wake anyone... Especially not Zuko who'd probably take his head off if he'd wake him up. "_Glad he's sleeping soundly" _he thought after he made it past the sleeping Firelord _"Guess I'll just wash off..." _Jet stepped one foot into the mini indoor hotsprings when he noticed black hair peeking just barely above the water.

Blushing furiously after remembering that she was taking a bath he quickly turned "I'm sorry, I forgot you were in here!" he said, squeezing his eyes shut. _Silence. _He opened one eye and strained to see what was going on "Umm... Tiana?" he turned towards the bath, staring intently at the unmoving girl. He took a daring step closer "You okay?" Jet asked, unsure if he should take the final step forward. "_Zuko's going to kill me for this" _he made the final daring move, bending down and gently shaking the girl on her shoulder "Tiana?" she slumped over to her side, slipping into the water. Panicking he jerked her from the water. Shaking the girls seemingly lifeless body he ran into the main room.

"Zuko, wake up" he urged, kicking him off the couch "What the hell?" he yelled, catching himself before making contact with the stone ground, Jet ignored him, placing the girl onto the couch, reaching over to pull the blanket over her "What happened?" Zuko asked, kneeling beside the couch "I don't know.

* * *

Okay ... I do admit, the last part was... Extremely rushed -.- I just didn't want to write anymore about that! BUT I've been planning on this happening from the beginning so this idea popped up and I ran with it...Took a break, got bored with it and.. Rushed it T.T I'M SORRY FOR THE CRAPPY QUALITY!

Also, compared to the other chapters this one is relatively short which was kind of upsetting to me since I planned to make all of them generally the same length :( So yeahh... sadness T.T

SO! A few things happened. Somethings wrong with Tiana, Azula's scheming (are you surprised?), and Jet is wayyy OOC I'm sorry T.T To be honest, I kinda forgot his exact personality, I haven't seen an episode with him in it for a looonnnggg while... In fact... I haven't really seen an episode recently... at all O.O!

But anyways! I suppose you should Review :) Since Reviews make me happpyyyy :D


	8. Chapter 8

Okay... So I have valid reasons for not updating in like...Forever -.- The main reason is that I've been way too busy to write! Reason 2 is that I keep having small ideas about this but then deleting it, reason 3 is that my computer has been in the shop for the past two weeks so that was a fail :( BUT! I shall finish this chapter if it kills me!

Few warnings, well... One main one, Jet is extremely OOC! Quite honestly ,the reason that is is because... I forgot what he's like T.T AND! He has to act this way to fit in my story xD To be honest he acts a little more like Sokka at times than anything.. So, you've been warned! Which means if you do review please don't comment on how OOC Jet is and how he's not like that or how he's more like this or blah blah blah whatever xP Okie, thanks :)

The second sorta warning is that this is all loosely strung together, I've been working on this on and off for awhile, I'm pretty sure I've said this before but I'll say it again, I know how I want this to end so its kinda difficult trying to figure out how I'll get point A to point B and still make sense :)

Anyways time for the whole ... "I don't own avatar or anything avatar the last airbender related, the only things I technically own are my characters that have been created in my crazy mind xD"

ONWARD!

* * *

_Recap_

_Blushing furiously after remembering that she was taking a bath he quickly turned "I'm sorry, I forgot you were in here!" he said, squeezing his eyes shut. Silence. He opened one eye and strained to see what was going on "Umm... Tiana?" he turned towards the bath, staring intently at the unmoving girl. He took a daring step closer "You okay?" Jet asked, unsure if he should take the final step forward. "Zuko's going to kill me for this" he made the final daring move, bending down and gently shaking the girl on her shoulder "Tiana?" she slumped over to her side, slipping into the water. Panicking he jerked her from the water. Shaking the girls seemingly lifeless body he ran into the main room. _

_"Zuko, wake up" he urged, kicking him off the couch "What the hell?" he yelled, catching himself before making contact with the stone ground, Jet ignored him, placing the girl onto the couch,__reaching over to pull the blanket over her "What happened?" Zuko asked, kneeling beside the couch "I don't know._

* * *

Tiana woke up, her blurry vision slowly coming into focus to reveal two boys hovering beside her. Blinking a few times she heard Zuko sigh "Its 'bout time you got up" Jet said "What happened?" she asked hoarsely "I don't know, I walked in when you were in your bath and when I apologized you didn't say anything so I went over to shake you and you fell into the water so I brought you out here" Zuko's eyes narrowed in anger "You walked in on her? You told me you found her like that on the **floor**" Jet ran a hand through his scruffy hair "Well...I was standing on the floor when I found her so its technically true" he said with an uneasy smirk, Zuko shook his head, deciding to ignore the thought.

"What haven't you been telling me?" Zuko asked, searching her eyes for some sort of truth "I- ... I don't know what's going on..." she sighed, turning her eyes away from his intense stare, he put his hand on her chin, forcing her to face him "I can tell you have an idea" they locked eyes for a few moments longer "I thought it had gone away forever... Thats what my parents had told me" he dropped his hand "But...For some reason... its come back" knitting his eyebrows together Jet moved a little closer "What's come back?" he asked curiously "It was a disease I was born with... My grandmother had had it also...Its the reason we'd moved so much in the beginning, we finally cured it by the time I was nine..." Zuko brought his hand down his face "What disease?" he didn't want to ask it but knew that it was something that had to be done "There's no definite name for it... It was something that was almost unheard of, let alone diagnosed, which was the reason it was...Is so hard to get rid of..." Jet crossed his arms, taking a daring step closer to the potentially dangerous Zuko. "What were the symptoms? We need to be alert as to what may happen" Tiana was about to answer when Zuko's head quickly turned to face him "What do you mean, **we**" he asked "Well, it'd be safer if I tagged along... You can't watch her **all** the time" Zuko's hand turned into a fist "And who says I can't?" he nearly growled, suddenly feeling threatened. Tiana placed a soothing hand on his shoulder "He's right, it'll be safer this way" Zuko sighed, relaxing his shoulders "Besides, what if Keiran and Loki find out you two are on to them? By that point she might not be able to fight and you'll be at a disadvantage considering you can't use your bending" Finally seeing the logic Zuko warmed up to the idea completely "Fine" Jet smirked "Excellent, now, Tiana, what were your symptoms before?" Tiana rubbed her neck in concentration while trying to remember what they were exactly "Lets see...I remember that coughing up blood fairly often was one...fainting...umm... weakness and fatigue... I think that was all..." Jet nodded "Its not much but no doubt we'll need to be make sure nothing happens because if you die here its over, no crossing over, no turning into a sprit, zip. You disappear" Zuko cringed at the thought "Then I guess we'll be working together from now on" he concluded "Yep" Jet stuck out a hand to him, Zuko stared for a moment before firmly shaking hands with him. "Now then, you guys had better get some rest, as I said before. We leave tomorrow " Both Tiana and Zuko nodded in agreement "Night Jet" She said "G'night Tiana" he said, passing her on the couch. He was about to leave again when Zuko caught him on the arm "And...thanks" he added before removing his hand and walking back to sleep on the floor beside the girl. Jet watched as Zuko did so, a smirk growing on his lips "_I think this is gonna be fun" _he thought to himself before disappearing into the night.

* * *

_*Somewhere else*_

"I can't believe you lost them!" Loki yelled, while they both dashed frantically through the woods in case they'd somehow survived and had been just wandering aimlessly for the past few hours "What do you mean 'I can't believe **I **lost them' how could **I **have even known they were going to fall down the waterfall? It was your damn plan, you know very well there's another way... A safer way, around!" Keiran shot back "But **you **also know very well that that way was the quickest to our destination! How happy do you think the boss is gonna be if we are late with his meal and or we let them get away! So embarrassing! This is the first time I've ever lost anybody!... EVER!" she screeched, both coming to a halt after nearly smacking into the bottom of a rocky cliffside "Thats not true! Or did you forget about that one kid who slipped past us a couple months back?" Loki grimaced at the thought of him and his cocky smirk "Ugh, I'd nearly forgotten... I swear I'll find him and kill that kid if its the last thing I do!" she put emphasis on her statement by punching the wall in front of her "Thats only the millionth time you've said that" he retorted "He comes in and plays a hero and we get bitched at by the big boss man!" she yelled out something similar to a swear word before running a hand through her hair "I hate him" she added softly "I know you do..." Keiran soothed "C'mon, staying here and pouting isn't going to get us anywhere" he said, helping her up.

"Alright, lets get going. If they survived they'd be heading ... South" Keiran looked thoughtful before answering "Sounds about right, now, how many lies do you have left?" Loki looked down, thinking for a moment "Still one I think, and you're out, right?" Keiran shook his head "I've got one also" Loki cocked an eyebrow "What are you talking about? You wasted your last one on that stupid far-fetched story. Great acting but a bit dramatic" Keiran smirked "It wasn't" he said simply "It wasn't what? A bit dramatic? If thats what you're talking about then you're sooooo wrong! That was way over the-" Keiran cut her off "No, it was true, all of it" Loki remained silents for a few seconds before responding "Oh... sorry then... " Keiran shrugged "Its no big deal... Really. Now lets pick up the pace and find them" smiling Loki nodded and the two took off, heading south.

* * *

_*Back to Jets cave* _

Zuko awoke, at first wondering why he was on the floor. Standing and stretching his back in an attempt to get the aches out from sleeping on the hard surface he noticed the figure on the couch beside him, flashes of the previous night filled his mind. "_Right" _he thought to himself while sitting back down. "C'mon its time to wake up!" Jet yelled, Tiana sat straight up, clearly startled by the obnoxious voice filling the room, Zuko looked up at the boy "Oh... its you" he said, unamused by Jets actions "Well isn't that a fine good morning?" he asked sarcastically "Morning Jet" Tiana greeted "And a very good morning to you" Jet said in a very obvious flirty tone. Zuko closed his eyes and repeated to himself to 'just ignore the idiot' apparently he'd said it so many times in his head it turned into a light mumble "Zuko, you realize that you might sound crazy, mumbling to yourself like that" Jet said suddenly, Zuko's eyes opened just barely as they squinted into a glare, Tiana placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder grabbing his attention, he peered over his shoulder at the girl, she warned him with her eyes not to do anything rash and well... stupid. Jet moved closer, leaning slightly on the arm rest of the couch "We should leave as soon as possible meaning... Now" with a flick of his wrist and a quick movement he yanked the blanket off of Tiana who instinctively crossed her arms across her chest and brought her legs up crossing them as well "WHAT THE HELL?" she shrieked, there was an undeniable blush that crept up on Jets face as he realized that she only had her bindings on "Oh... right, sorry" he said, looking in the other direction and trying to keep an even cool tone to his voice. Zuko clenched and unclenched his fists while trying to keep from pounding down the former Freedom Fighters leader.

The three teens sat in an awkward silence before Tiana finally spoke up "You know, I can't change unless somebody leaves" she looked at Jet while she said this, Jet looked to her and then Zuko, leaning down to him slightly "I think she means you" Jet said, pretending whispered "SHE MEANS YOU!" Zuko had reached the near breaking point until he hit him as he stood. His sudden action sending Jet flying up and stumbling back a little. Jet lifted his hands, half guarding himself when Zuko took a step "Fine, fine. Geez, cool down firebender! It was a joke. I don't want to fight you... Again, especially over something dumb like this" Zuko stayed silent "Alright, I get the message, I'm goin'. I'll be back in 'bout ... twenty minutes, be ready" he said, finally leaving the cave once more.

Zuko and Tiana waited for a few moments, making sure he was gone. Both exchanged blank looks before Zuko cracked a smile and Tiana let out a giggle she'd been keeping in "Ahh, his face was absolutely priceless!" Zuko chuckled, nodding in agreement while walking over to collect her clothes neatly folded beside the arch to the hot springs. Tiana wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, she barely caught the undershirt Zuko tossed at her "So... What did he mean 'fight you again'... You never told me that you fought with him" Zuko leaned against the back of the couch "Oh... it wasn't important" he said while accidentally' dropping her tunic on her head once she'd managed to get the undershirt on "So? Important, unimportant. Doesn't matter, I still want to know" her voice slightly muffled as she struggled with finding the neck hole in her tunic, somehow managing to almost get two arms into a single arm hole "Well...There's not much to tell..." he began while helping her with her tunic "I met Jet on a barge traveling to Ba Sing Se" Tiana eyed him suspiciously "I was with my uncle, hoping to get a new start" he said, answering her unspoken question, smiling in content he continued his tale "I had been...voicing my opinion on the poor grade of food they served us" Tiana cut him off "You mean complaining you got crap food?" he squinted his eyes "No, I mean, voicing my opinion... Anyways, he heard me and basically asked if I wanted to play Robin Hood with him. You know? Steal the captains food and then give it out to the fellow passengers. So we talked a bit and sometime after he asked me to join the Freedom Fighters and getting off that barge he somehow figured out that we were firebenders and from then on tried to trick us into exposing our bending, he didn't succeed but it ended with me and him fighting with hook-swords and broad swords, followed by him getting dragged away by the Dai Li... In other words, we didn't end on good terms."

Tiana chewed on her bottom lip, something she often did when she pondered a deep thought "So.. Why's he being so nice?" Zuko sat thoughtful for a moment but before he could answer, Jet appeared at the entrance, casually leaning against the wall "He's being so nice because he has no reason to be angry anymore. I admit, I was a bit ... irrational when it came to firenation folks, not without good reason but...I always seemed to take it three steps too far..." Taking a few steps closer he placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder "Think about it, if I had killed you that night in Ba Sing Se... This war may never have ended like it had... So... Thanks" Jet smirked and Zuko stood placing his other hand on Jets shoulder "You never had a chance" Zuko winked and sat beside Tiana who was lost in a fit of laughter at Jets dumbfounded face. Jet tried to frown but couldn't help but smile "Tch, alright, whatever you say... Anyways, we better get outta here if we even have a chance of finding them **before** they find us" 'Before', key word right there. "Alright, lets go" The two said in near unison.

Before leaving Jet walked over to his makeshift kitchen, grabbing a bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He followed the two out, stopping right before he was completely out of the cave "C'mon Jet, lets go" Tiana called "Yeah, I'll be right there" he looked over his home "_See you in another life" _he thought to himself, running his free hand along the smooth rock, smiling to himself before leaving entirely.

* * *

I know it was kinda lame and relatively short compared to past chapters (seems like it to me at least) Oh well, at least its a chapter, right? :) So anyways! HOPEFULLY (I say this a lot xP) I'll have another chapter up soon! Because I definitely would like to finish this story by at least February! Sooo yay for goals xD Could this just maybe mean that I'll work on it more?

Well as usual I love to hear what y'all think so reviews are most appreciated :)


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! It is time for another chapter so bare with me through this! :) I will be struggling a bit until they return back to the 'normal' world... IF they return to the normal world dun dun dunnnn O.O But that should actually be pretty soon so yeah :)

Anyways moving on.

I don't own anything avatar related!

* * *

_Previously_

_Tiana chewed on her bottom lip, something she often did when she pondered a deep thought "So.. Why's he being so nice?" Zuko sat thoughtful for a moment but before he could answer, Jet appeared at the entrance, casually leaning against the wall "He's being so nice because he has no reason to be angry anymore. I admit, I was a bit ... irrational when it came to firenation folks, not without good reason but...I always seemed to take it three steps too far..." Taking a few steps closer he placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder "Think about it, if I had killed you that night in Ba Sing Se... This war may never have ended like it had... So... Thanks" Jet smirked and Zuko stood placing his other hand on Jets shoulder "You never had a chance" Zuko winked and sat beside Tiana who was lost in a fit of laughter at Jets dumbfounded face. Jet tried to frown but couldn't help but smile "Tch, alright, whatever you say... Anyways, we better get outta here if we even have a chance of finding them __**before**__ they find us" 'Before', key word right there. "Alright, lets go" The two said in near unison. _

_Before leaving Jet walked over to his makeshift kitchen, grabbing a bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He followed the two out, stopping right before he was completely out of the cave "C'mon Jet, lets go" Tiana called "Yeah, I'll be right there" he looked over his home "__**See you in another life**__" he thought to himself, running his free hand along the smooth rock, smiling to himself before leaving entirely._

_

* * *

_

"So where exactly are we heading?" Zuko asked, nearly hitting a low branch, he was about to warn Tiana about it but she'd merely walked beneath it without ducking "One of the few perks of lacking height" she joked, Jet smirked before answering "We're heading towards the face stealers cave of course" Tiana's eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion "The face stealers cave? Why would we go there? I thought we were looking for Loki and Kieran" Jet nodded in agreement "We are looking for them, so what's a more sensible way to find them then to go to the destination they're going to too?" thinking for a moment she nodded her head "Hm.. I guess that does make sense... But what if they find us and see you? Wouldn't that just mess everything up? Like... Wouldn't that give away that we know who they **really** are?" Jet shrugged "I dunno, they won't see us for a while if my guess is correct... I'll follow behind you two later tonight probably... Thats most likely when they'll find you so I think we're safe for now" Peering diagonally through the thin group of trees Jet spied part of the waterfall "And since we are safe for now... I think this is a good opportunity to get some water" Zuko looked back at him and was about to protest but as if reading his mind Jet reassured him "I know I know, we've only been walking for a few hours, but considering our.. how do I say ... current situation" he said the last words with his eyes darting to Tiana and then back to Zuko "I say the more rest the better" Zuko thought for a moment before siding with Jet on the decision "Seriously? The 'current situation'? Be more obvious about who you're talking about next time!" Jet cocked an eyebrow "I never said I **wasn't** being sarcastic, now did I?" winking at her he moved to the front before any said questionable language came out of said angry girl.

The sounds of large amounts of rushing water filled their ears "Well friends, I'll be right back" Jet announced, setting down his pack against a rock "And where might you be going?" Zuko asked suspiciously, Jet merely stared at Zuko with a 'Are you seriously asking me that?' look on his face before Zuko let out an 'Oh' and Jet continued on his way. "Where is he going?" Tiana asked curiously, clearly missing whatever just went on between the two boys "Uh... Maybe its better you just didn't worry about it" Tiana looked at Zuko for only a moment longer before deciding it best to believe him and just let it go.

"So anyways... What do you think of Jet's assumption? I question how accurate he is... I mean if they're as dangerous as he says.. They'll find us a lot sooner and he's only raising the risk of us being found out by being so out there" Tiana let out a deep breath, falling to her bottom and leaning against a large rock "I don't know Zuko... He's helped us so much already... I think its better we just trust him, y'know?" Zuko sighed "I guess you're right" he admitted while taking a seat beside her. Leaning over so she was laying in his lap she closed her eyes "How much longer do you think it'll be? Or rather...How long have we been here?" Zuko thought for a moment "I'd say we've been here a little over two weeks at least..." Tiana opened her eyes, staring blankly at the sky "Two weeks" she muttered "I guess thats not too bad...Feels longer though, doesn't it?" Zuko nodded absent-mindedly, losing interest in the conversation and focusing on how soft her hair was as he gently tangled his fingers in it.

Zuko leaned down hoping to steal a kiss "Aww well isn't this just a lovely sight! I do wish a had something to record this" Loki said sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips, the couple's attention immediately switched to the two looming figures above them "You" Zuko nearly growled "Why are you so upset?" Loki pretended to look hurt as she brought her hand up to her mouth with a gasp "Ikol, Nariek... How'd you find us?" Tiana asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she sat up.

"Pardon my french but, cut the bullshit sweetheart" venom dripped from her words "We both are fully aware that you two brats know who we really are" Zuko stood bravely in front of Tiana who was still sitting, he looked almost animalistic, ready to pounce if they did "Call off your dog 'bunny' before I put it down" Kieran threatened with a surprising cold edge to his voice compared to how he usually spoke... To her at least "You wouldn't dare" she spat back, at an inhuman speed Kieran roughly pushed Zuko aside and appeared in front of Tiana's face "You wanna bet?" his hot breath sent chills down her spine, yanking her up roughly by her bad arm she let out a yelp of pain "What is this contraption?" he asked, poking at a leather thing wrapped around her shoulder, Tiana balled her fists and gritted her teeth together to keep from making a noise "Hey, leave her alone!" Zuko yelled drawing the attention to himself as he tackled Kieran to the ground, but before he could lay a punch Kieran had him pinned, holding his fist above his head, just waiting to hit him as hard as he could. "NO!" before Kieran made a decision to hit him or not Tiana made a feeble attempt to stop him by holding onto his wrist with all her might. Chuckling he easily threw her back a few feet, landing hard on the ground below her.

Nearby Jet gripped the tree branch he was perched on as he watched helplessly from the sides "_If I show up it'll only get worse" _he continued to remind himself as he watched the events unfold.

"Son of a bitch" Zuko swore, something he rarely did... lately at least. He kicked Keiran off of him, running over to Tiana "Are you all right?" he asked, helping her up "Yeah I'm fine" feeling a stinging sensation she turned over her hands. They were both bleeding as skin was pulled off from skidding across the rough terrain, Zuko looked back at Kieran who just stared at the two satisfied "You're gonna pay" Zuko ran at Keiran taking wild swings at him "Zuko, stop!" Tiana shrieked, knowing how this would end but it was too late, Kieran had landed one hard punch sending Zuko flying only to be stopped by his back slamming against a tree. "Zuko!" Tiana stood running over to him, stumbling as she did so and falling to her knees, ignoring the pain when her exposed skin was met by small pebbles, she gently cradled Zuko's limp body against her "Unforgivable" she whispered "I warned you to call him off" Kieran siad, brushing himself off "Now, will you come quietly or do we have to knock you out too?" Loki asked uncaring. Biting her lip in an attempt to even out her shaky voice "Fine, do what you want" Loki smirked darkly "Excellent, the boss will be pleased" Kieran pushed Tiana away from Zuko surprisingly gently compared to what she thought he'd do as he picked the young fire lord up with ease and slinging him over his shoulder "Alright, lets go" Tiana nodded defeatedly while watching Zuko's battered form lay still, swinging slightly with each step Kieran took.

When they'd been a good distance away Jet leapt down from the tree he'd been sitting in and followed along making sure to keep good distance and be as quiet and sneaky as possible... Especially when they reached the cave...

* * *

_Meanwhile, somewhere in the Fire Nation_

A young woman pushed past civilians as she made her way to a thought to be abandoned hotel. Busting the doors open to the broken down hotel she leaned over on her knees, gasping for air and not seeming to realize the swords suddenly pointing at her "Oh... Its just you" a nasally voice said, signally for the others to drop their weapons as well "What's so urgent that you just **had** to nearly break the doors off and startle all of us? We nearly killed you" the girl bowed her head "I apologize, I just needed to tell you the news I heard" the woman behind the desk sat up, suddenly interested in what the girl had to say "And what did you hear?" Finally regaining a steady breathing pattern she stood straight "Sai, Tiana Wang's friend who had been sent to get herbs to cure her sickness" she began "Yes... continue" the woman urged "He's returning... Tonight, apparently he's located and collected each and every ingredient needed" the girls news caused the woman to sit back in her chair and press her fingertips against each other while she rethought her current strategy.

"I think its better this way..." a raspy voice woman spoke up "This way, I can see the fear and pain in her eyes when she sees her beloved city 'burn' so to speak" chuckling darkly the other woman nodded in agreement "I agree... We'll let him deliver his... 'hope' ... then we'll strike" the girl who had brought the news nodded and bowed "Yes Fire-lord Azula" Azula smirked at the sound as she began to cackle evilly, resembling an old witch instead of the sophisticated person she once was.

* * *

_Back in the Spirit World_

_*__**Warning! heavy suggestions of sex in this part so if that offends you, skip to the next part :)***_

Zuko turned to his side, groaning slightly before blinking a few times as the room came into focus "_Where am I?_" the room looked like a hollowed out tree, he placed a hand on the opposite side of the large bed panicking slightly when he realized Tiana was nowhere to be seen, all the days past events hit him at once when the panic filled him "Tiana?" he called out, nervously searching around the room "Over here.." a meek voice said, Zuko's eyes were drawn to the window which was the only source of light, Tiana sat on the seat beside it, staring blankly out the darkened window. Zuko sighed out of relief "Glad you're okay" he said softly as he slowly got out of the bed, he inhaled quickly when the pain hit him, looking down he saw white bandages wrap around his torso and left shoulder. "From when Kieran threw you against the tree..." Tiana answered without looking at him.

Suddenly worried by the way she was acting he cautiously approached her, placing a gently hand on her shoulder. Instinctively she pulled away before relaxing under his touch "Tiana, look at me" she wouldn't and when he'd try to get around to look at her she looked down, allowing her hair to hang over her face. "Tiana, I asked you to look at me" he demanded it this time a little more, after being refused a second time he slowly moved her hair out of her face, pinning it behind her ears, gripping her chin he lifted her head, her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, bruises were on either side of her face and there were two long tear trails. Not needing to say anything Zuko drew her into his bare chest, holding her tightly, her small arms wrapped around his waist as new tears fell "So, why were you crying?" he asked, gently stroking her hair, a trick that he knew would calm her down "You know the answer... you have been asleep for almost two days..." he couldn't help but smile, nobody had ever cried over him like this before... It wasn't even that bad. Zuko placed a hand on each of her shoulders before removing one to pin back a few rogue strands of hair. "You're a mess" he said, finally coming to that conclusion after taking in her appearance, her clothes ripped and dirty, and her face stained with a mix of tears and dried blood that her could only hope wasn't her own. She nodded in agreement "Yeah.. I guess so" spying a wash bin from the corner of his eye he guided her to the bed, sitting her down and bring the bin over "Here... "

Zuko sat down beside her daringly helped her remove her clothes, she kept her balance as her nimbly undid the first few buttons of her tunic, slipping it over her head. He continued that process until she was down to only her bindings. Zuko looked her over, probably a minute longer than he should have, his heart racing, he finally forced himself to tear away before he did something irrational "Uh... I'll let you take care of this" he said shyly, his cheeks heating up as he stood, but before he could get too far a carefully bandaged hand grabbed hold of his wrist, his heart stopped "I... can't do much with these" she motioned to both her hands with were heavily bandaged. Zuko's eyebrows rose "You... want me to" he gulped nervously, knowing where this was possibly going "Help?" nodding she pulled him closer "Yes... I want you...to help" she put a careful pause between her words. Zuko needed no further hints, he actually got the point.

He dipped the rag into the cool water, rinsing it out before her brought it to her skin, tensing up slightly from the sudden cold water washing over her back, she relaxed after a few moments, growing used to the water as he ran the cloth over her arms and legs as well. Zuko brought the rag up to her face, careful not to hurt her bruised cheeks while her attempted to remove the dried blood. Satisfied after successfully removing the stain.

Zuko crouched down, dipping the dirtied cloth in the water again "I think I'll need another cloth" he said, not looking up as he attempted to reuse it "Use this one" he looked up to see what she was talking about when a piece of cloth hit him in the face, covering his eyes. Peeling the simple cotton fabric from his face he examined it for only a moment before realizing what it was, deciding to be bold he spoke again "I-I don't think this is clean enough either" he waited a moment, thinking he ruined his chance he heard rustling under the covers when he was hit yet again in the face. "That good enough?" she asked innocently from under the covers. Zuko stood, staring at her almost as if he was trying to see her through the blanket "Its kind of cold..." she 'complained' smirking as he crawled onto the bed putting his legs on either side of her and hovering above her small frame he leaned down to her ear "Do you want me to do something about it?" he asked, lust clear in his voice sending tingles throughout her body, before she could even hope to answer he moved down, placing small kisses along her collarbone before kissing his way back up her neck and to her lips where he drew her into a deep kiss.

***_Suggestive part over... sorta* _**

* * *

_Outside the room a few minutes earlier. _

"Hey, I guess I'll relieve you for the rest of the night" Keiran said as he approached his adopted sister "Thank Agni for that! Its so boring, its one of the few times I wish I actually COULD fall asleep I just can't wait to be rid of them tomorrow" Keiran nodded in agreement "Here, something to do with your time" she handed him a square portable game "Is this the game you're always playing?" Loki nodded "Getting the little metal ball into the center hole isn't as easy as it looks!" she said as she left "Have fun"

Keiran finished the game with ease "_She thinks this is difficult?_" he was halfway through a third round when he heard a sound he hadn't heard in years. He knew it was wrong but he strained his ears to hear the otherside of the door. "_Do my ears deceive me?" _he asked himself, but he wasn't hearing wrong. Soft moans could be heard through the wooden door and a "_Are you sure you want to?_" Keiran face went pale as he almost face palmed himself. Slouching down back in his chair he ran a hand through his hair, eyes wide"I _Can't believe they're doing __**that**__" _he thought in disbelief. Exhaling loudly he reached over and pulled something out of his bag that he reserved mainly for Loki's nagging, heavy duty earplugs totally channelling any surrounding sounds. Keiran muttered a few incomprehensible words before chucking the game, sending it flying across the ground into a corner and pulling out a book to preoccupy his mind instead.

* * *

So ... ZUKO GOT LUCKY! xD Lol the writing was a bit sloppy (I think) for the Zuko/Tiana moment xP But I wanted to try and keep it clean but have a ... well, a sorta sexy edge to it y'know? I didn't want it to be lame! This is ZUKO AND TIANA we're talking about xP Besides they've had this sexual tension between them for a while ;) So I guess poor Keiran for hearing that xP

But anyways, other than that I got a lot accomplished in this chapter meaning we'll probably be out of the spirit world entirely vurrryyy soon so stay tuned in for that excitement! Because this'll end with a showdown between Loki, Keiran, Tiana, Zuko, and maybe even Jet! :)

Reviews as always are appreciated :)


	10. Chapter 10

Hello again! I can't believe that this is the third week (I think?) of steady one chapter a week thing! And trust me when I say I'm really trying to keep this a once a week thing.

Anyways, a lot happened last chapter.

1. Azula is going to strike soon

2. Sai will be back soon

3. Loki and Keiran found Zuko and Tiana and are now holding the two captive.

4. Zuko and Tiana had an intimate moment ;)

Anyways xP I don't own anything avatar related!

Moving onnn...

* * *

_Previously..._

_"Hey, I guess I'll relieve you for the rest of the night" Keiran said as he approached his adopted sister "Thank Agni for that! Its so boring, its one of the few times I wish I actually COULD fall asleep I just can't wait to be rid of them tomorrow" Keiran nodded in agreement "Here, something to do with your time" she handed him a square portable game "Is this the game you're always playing?" Loki nodded "Getting the little metal ball into the center hole isn't as easy as it looks!" she said as she left "Have fun"_

_Keiran finished the game with ease "She thinks this is difficult?" he was halfway through a third round when he heard a sound he hadn't heard in years. He knew it was wrong but he strained his ears to hear the otherside of the door. "Do my ears deceive me?" he asked himself, but he wasn't hearing wrong. Soft moans could be heard through the wooden door and a "Are you sure you want to?" Keiran face went pale as he almost face palmed himself. Slouching down back in his chair he ran a hand through his hair, eyes wide"I Can't believe they're doing __**that**__" he thought in disbelief. Exhaling loudly he reached over and pulled something out of his bag that he reserved mainly for Loki's nagging, heavy duty earplugs that would totally channel out any surrounding sounds. Keiran muttered a few incomprehensible words before chucking the game, sending it flying across the ground into a corner and pulling out a book to preoccupy his mind instead._

Zuko rolled onto his back, slowly stirring awake, greeted by the suns bright rays shining in "_What a great dream_" he thought to himself, one of the first and only happy thoughts since he had arrived in the Spirit world. Before he could get out of bed he noticed a small figure shifting against him, nuzzling deeper into his warm chest. He stared down at the figure, peeling back the covers to see the girls face. Semi-surprising him was when he laid eyes on Tiana's serene face and naked form, she attempted to nuzzle even closer when the air suddenly hit her. He laid back confused "_What hap- ...So it wasn't a dream" _he smiled back at the previous nights event, her muffled moans, his quiet grunts, the feeling in general. Zuko could only sigh from the feeling of satisfaction that filled him, while he would like to think nothing could get him down... Something could get him down "_It all ends tonight..._" he thought, wrapping one arm around her he hoped that it would go well. He noticed the long scar on her hip, remembering her saying how she got it...

* * *

_**Previous night...**_

_Zuko walked two fingers up Tiana's side from her knee to her hip before resting his hand there, carefully outlining a light vertical line on it "I was fourteen, had no money, no place to stay... So.. I stole a loaf of bread... Almost got away until I was noticed by a little kid" Tiana chuckled at the memory "The shopkeeper was so mad he grabbed his bread knife and took a few swipes at me" Zuko stared at the scar as if in a trance, continuing to trace it, eventually kissing the tips of his two fingers and gently placing it on the past wound._

* * *

Moving his attention, he focused on her bare shoulder, lazily stroking her arm, enjoying the feel of her silk skin beneath his fingertips. He barely noticed her watching him "Having fun?" she asked playfully, she pulled away slightly to readjust her position so she could lay across Zuko's chest, her head on his stomach "You should gain more weight" she said suddenly, Zuko, clearly looked amused decided to venture further "And why is that?" Tiana smiled "So you'd be more comfortable of course!" Zuko laughed, shaking his head "You're ridiculous, you know that. Right?" he felt her shrug against him. The two sat in silence before Tiana suddenly spoke up "You know, we should probably get up before we're joined by anyone else" Zuko knew she was right but still remained still, she suddenly got up, half-rolling out of the bed. Zuko watched as a shiver coursed through her when the cool air gently blew across her skin.

Tiana reached down at the foot of the bed, picking up her bindings. Once she was satisfied they were secure she crawled onto the bed, cuddling against Zuko. The couples tender moment was too short lived as the door swung open, slamming against the wall. "Mornin' kids!" Loki greeted "Tsk tsk tsk. Still in bed are we? Well, I can't blame you for being tired after such an... exciting night" Loki didn't bother to make eye contact with the two as she walked further into the room.

Loki did a quick examination of the state of the room, noticing mangled clothes laying neatly over the foot of the bed. The couple dare not move as Loki moved closer to further inspect something "What's this?" she asked while running her hand over a few chips in the sanded wood on the wall, smirking to herself "No..." she said, kneeling to sweep her hand across the floor, looking down she saw bits of what looked like sawdust "Wow... you guys really did have 'fun' didn't you" she said with a wink. The young couples faces turned almost beet red.

The red haired woman stopped and locked eyes with the two "Do you want to know something I absolutely despise?" she asked suddenly, stalking towards the two in bed making Zuko back up in front of Tiana "I despise..." she moved closer "You" she said glaring at Tiana, Zuko didn't have time to react when she pushed him off the bed sending him flying against the wooden wall. She glared at Tiana menacingly before intwining her long fingers in Tiana's hair, gripping a section firmly and dragging her out of bed "We'll be leaving now, see you Zuzu" Loki said with a wink "Zuko!" Tiana screamed out while clawing at the girls hand to remove the painful grip around her hair. Zuko shook his head in an attempt to regain his senses "Tiana!" he sprinted for the door only for it to be shut in his face "Let-me-out!" he yelled between punches to the door "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Zuko knew that his requests remained unheard but he continued to bang on the door.

Zuko had been pounding at that door for nearly two hours before giving up, sliding down the door defeatedly. Tangling his hands in his shaggy hair Zuko let out a yell of frustration, knocking the back of his head against the door behind him.

*_tap tap* _Zuko's ears perked up, his eyes immediately darting to the window, squinting slightly in an attempt to see past the setting suns rays he saw the silhouette of a very familiar person. Scrambling to his feet he leaned against the window straining to hear what Jet was trying to say "Move out of the way!" that part he did hear, jumping back barely in time as the former Freedom Fighter rammed through the glass.

"Never thought I'd ever say this but I am happy to see you" Zuko's face remained serious "Where's Tiana?" Jet asked suddenly, scanning the room "I don't know, Loki dragged her away" Jet stroked his chin thoughtfully. The two remained silent, both trying to logically figure out why they would take her and not him, was it merely because Loki hated her and they were allowing her to do whatever she wanted to? No... thats reckless. So what?

Ruffling his hair Jet shook his head "Clearly we're getting nowhere wracking our brains like this, what we need to do is take action and find her. Unless of course you actually have a better idea" Zuko shook his head "Exactly so now we just have to figure out where they've taken her..." it only took a moment before the two reached the same conclusion "To the face stealers cave!" they said in unison "C'mon! Follow me!" Zuko did as Jet said and followed him as he leapt out of the window onto a nearby branch. "_Dear Agni I hope he's right" _

* * *

_Back at the palace_

"!" Katara turned her head a second too late as a frantic messenger knocked her over "Wah?" Katara peered up at the now all too familiar face looming above her "Xiao!" Xiao's cheeks were instantly tinged with red as he rolled off to stand holding out his hand "Sorry " Katara smiled, shaking her head and taking hold of his outstretched hand "I told you, its Katara. Besides, its so quiet around here I really do appreciate the small bouts of excitement that goes on when you come around" The boy turned his head in an attempt to hide his face out of embarrassment. "Anyways, what do you have for me today? Any more messages from Aang?" Katara asked, hope filling her eyes "Umm.. Sorry, but other than the one I delivered to you yesterday... and the one four days prior to that one none have arrived. But your comrade, Master Sai, will be returning tonight and Fire Lady Ursa would like me to remind you that you are to pick him up at the pier at seven sharp." Katara nodded her head in understanding "Is that all Xiao?" Xiao shook his head nervously "What is it?" The fourteen-year-old leaned back on his heels "Well... There's been some rebel activity going on. And Fire Lady Ursa also wanted me to let you know that you should remain on guard at all times" once more nodding in understanding Xiao excused himself, dashing off the halls to deliver the next message

"_It really is weird... to refer them as rebels and refugees... That was us not long ago..." _Katara thought as she wandered through random halls. "AH!" Katara's blue eyes flickered from the floor to meet an almost identical pair wide-open in surprise as a silver tray and dirty plates flew to the air. Katara stumbled back slightly before closing her eyes tight and bracing her ears for the sound of porcelain crashing to their destruction. But all that was heard was the tray hitting the floor, a sigh of relief was heard next. Daring to peek down at the fallen girl, lucky for the two of them the plates had been saved by a large rug beneath a seemingly randomly placed table with a flower vase above it. "That was close" a soprano voice said "No kidding" Katara agreed, helping the girl up "Sorry about that.." Katara added, leaning over to pick up the gold trimmed plates "Don't worry about it, I should've been watching where I was going... Besides, you seemed deep in thought Miss..." the girl trailed off, suddenly realizing she didn't know the other girls name "Katara, and you?" It had suddenly hit Katara that this was the girl that was from the water tribe "Ki-ra... My names Kira" Slight suspicion rose in Katara by the slight hesitation in Kira's voice but she ignored it "_Must be her nerves" _Katara told herself "You're from the water tribe too... Aren't you ?" smiling Katara shook her head in agreement "Thats right, I'm from the southern tribe, and you?" Katara was silently hoping that Kira would say that she was from the southern too but its a small tribe so she'd have known Kira if she lived in the south "Well... My grandfather lived in the southern tribe but he moved to the northern tribe when he was a young man where he met my gran gran. So I was raised in the northern water tribe but I have some southern water tribe in me" Kira explained "Really?" Katara wasn't sure what she was more surprised by, the fact she had southern water tribe in her or that she called her grandmother gran gran too! Well... it wasn't that unusual but still... Unfortunately though Kira spoke before Katara could continue the conversation "Hey, , I'd love to continue this conversation but I have to do chores and other fun events like that so we'll have to finish this some other time"Katara suddenly felt hurt, thinking that Kira may have been just trying to get out of there "Oh- I understand" Katara tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, but Kira knew better "NO! I don't mean it like that... I just don't want to get fired" Kira smiled brightly and Katara soon joined her "But lets continue this tomorrow sometime, lets say... six?" Katara nodded enthusiastically "Six sounds perfect! See you then!" Kira nodded, walking off.

* * *

_In the Spirit World_

The two young men approached the cave, attempting to be as silent and stealthy as possible. Pausing suddenly the two remained still as a shadow passed over them, the smell of smoke filling the air, Jet could see from where he was perched Keiran lighting a cigarette, shaking the match to go out "Damn, round up some of the most difficult souls yet and all that scrooge can get me from the real world is a two measly packs of cigarettes and three packs of matches" Keiran scoffed "Pathetic" he mumbled to himself, continuing to puff the cigarette.

Jet tapped lightly but impatiently against the tree branch as Keiran took his time with that cigarette "We have to get in there now" he whispered to Zuko who was right behind him "I know, but how?" Jet looked thoughtful for a moment "Distraction, I'll get him to chase me and then you'll run in alright?" Zuko gave a quick nod 'Good luck' he mouthed as Jet put two fingers to his forehead in a fake salute as he seemed to have fallen backwards from the branch but knowing him he had landed just fine.

Suddenly against the base of the cave Jet crossed his arms "Hey, you know its not very nice to hold dear damsels in distress against their will right?" Keiran turned his head towards Jet it was a wonder he didn't get whiplash "You!" he sneered "Thats right, me" Jet winked before taking off like lightning to the deep woods. Zuko waited, still crouched in the same position until the two had been long gone. Carefully leaping down from his position he crept through the entrance. Zuko cautiously scanned the room before daring to take a single step further, when he'd decided it was safe a streak of red flashed before his eyes as long finger were wrapped around his neck "You think we're stupid? You think we didn't know you were plotting with that dumb kid? Besides, how unoriginal can you get? I mean seriously!We could even hear you two whispering" Loki glared at Zuko "Now lets go" She suddenly removed her grip around his neck, instead twisting his arm around uncomfortably, forcing him to go wherever she led him.

"Where is she? You better not have hurt her or so help me I'll-" Loki let out a 'Hah' mockingly "You'll what? Kill us all? Please Zuko, I really do not think that you are in the position to be the one thats making the demands around here. So you had better watch those manners boy" Zuko had to keep himself restrained from shouting anything that would seemingly further compromise his current situation "However... I'm feeling nice today so I'll tell you a secret" stopping suddenly to pull him closer to whisper in his ear she said "We're going to see her right now" noticing the slight slack in her grip Zuko successfully wriggled free, taking off down the first hall he saw. "_Shoot... I would pick the one thats entirely dark" _Zuko wandered around blindly for a few moments before noticing a faint light appearing suddenly before him. "_Great! A way out!" _

Zuko made his way towards the light as the brightness grew with each step he took, even to the point he had to bring up his arms in an attempt to shield his eyes. "Where...Am I?" Zuko wondered as

he inspected the room around him. Suddenly, he realized something that hit him like a truck "I'm back home?"

* * *

And thats it

The last bit was actually a merge of an old idea that I really wanted to use but would no longer be valid so I rethought it and thats what you get :) Oh, I'm not sure if I had mentioned this already or not but we are actually nearing the end of Zuko and Tiana's time in the Spirit World so I'm kinda psyched for that since I'm running out of ideas for it and quite frankly I'm also a little bored with it, an idea that has run way too long! But it shall be exciting when we get to the real world once more :) I've already revealed that Azula is in fact back! And talks of a rebel group attack is in the works, plus Sai is coming back with all the herbs so Ursa can combine them in some medicinal concoction and help Tiana out!

Anyways, I really do apologize for this one. This is one of the ones I wasn't happy with the outcome, I most definitely had way too many ideas running through my head at the moment... Plus this was kinda a forced chapter since I'm really trying to keep this updated once a week xO

Okie so review because reviews make me oh so very happy. But if you don't I understand.. I won't be upset... too much anyways T.T (justtt kidding xP)


	11. Chapter 11

Howdy! Sorry I haven't updated the past three weekends, I'd been meaning to last weekend but it ended up being a busier weekend than I had anticipated and then there's Thanksgiving so I was quite the little worker bee :)

Okay so this is going to be a very... different chapter, basically its gonna be what would've happened if Zuko HADN'T gone good in the end. Because he definitely played a huge part in winning the war (I think so anyways xP) Also its very fast-paced since I'm trying to fit this dream type sequence into one chapter without it being too long :) Okiee so I hope you enjoy it :)

*I don't own avatar! :(*

* * *

_Previously..._

_"Where is she? You better not have hurt her or so help me I'll-" Loki let out a 'Hah' mockingly "You'll what? Kill us all? Please Zuko, I really do not think that you are in the position to be the one thats making the demands around here. So you had better watch those manners boy" Zuko had to keep himself restrained from shouting anything that would seemingly further compromise his current situation "However... I'm feeling nice today so I'll tell you a secret" stopping suddenly to pull him closer to whisper in his ear she said "We're going to see her right now" noticing the slight slack in her grip Zuko successfully wriggled free, taking off down the first hall he saw. "Shoot... I would pick the one thats entirely dark" Zuko wandered around blindly for a few moments before noticing a faint light appearing suddenly before him. "Great! A way out!" _

_Zuko made his way towards the light as the brightness grew with each step he took, even to the point he had to bring up his arms in an attempt to shield his eyes. "Where...Am I?" Zuko wondered as _

_he inspected the room around him. Realization hit him like a truck "I'm back home?"_

_

* * *

_

_Somewhere..._

Zuko explored his home as if it were new to him, running his hand along a pillars ornate carvings. Suddenly an unfamiliar messenger was calmly walking towards him while calling his formal name "Prince Zuko" he said, holding out a crisp golden letter with the royal seal stamped on it "_Prince?" _Zuko wondered, the older man bowed, walking back a few steps in that position before walking normally to deliver another letter. Zuko stared down the hall a few moments longer after the mysterious messenger before directing his attention back to the letter. Carefully placing a finger under the letter opening he broke the seal, pulling out a red letter "_Always red, black, or gold" _he thought, laughing to himself.

_**Dear ZuZu, **_

_**I miss you dearly brother, but I will be back soon. **_

_**I have fantastic news! I have finally apprehended those pests, the Freedom fighters. That includes**_

_**their leader, he goes by the name of 'Jet' how dumb, am I right? Its so... common sounding.. ugh,**_

_**I shudder at the thought of being named such a horrid name. **_

_**Back on topic, we've also captured his girlfriend and brother, we're hoping to get some answers**_

_**out of him, his girlfriend, or his brother. Or him through his girlfriend/brother, and you know how we'd do that ;)**_

_**I do know how you dislike that kind of work but love the actual interrogation! So you can come in**_

_**later on like you always do. **_

_**Off topic but dear brother, do you remember when we interrogated that**_

_**stubborn water-tribe girl? That was fun. **_

_**So hows your fiancee doing? I guess I'll find out when I get there.**_

_**I suppose I wasn't surprised when you told me but... still, there was some surprise. **_

_**Well.. You did grow up with her for the most part anyways. I hope I can find someone like that**_

_**one day too!**_

_**By the time you get this I'll probably be home.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Azula**_

"_LOVE?" _Zuko had to brace himself against the pillar behind him, what was more surprising though? The fact the two siblings were **actually** getting along? Or was it the fact that Azula actually sounded like... a real girl at the end of her letter "_It must be a prank message... Azula has never liked me! Even when we were kid- s?" _at that moment Zuko had passed on of the ordinarily empty tables in the halls. He reached down and picked up one of the many photos lining the mahogany tables "What is this?" they had to have been nine or ten! Azula had been sitting on Zuko's shoulders eating a caramel apple and Zuko looked nervous as he tried to avoid the sticky apple juice dripping and trying not to drop his sister "_I don't... remember this.." _

Zuko put the picture down, staring up at the brass mirror hanging above the table "WHAT?" he yelled in surprise, moving closer to the mirror he studied what he saw "No scar?" he mumbled to himself. The mirror revealed a clean face as if there had never been a scar marring half his face.

"Sir, is there a problem?" A servant asked, clearly hiding his nervousness, Zuko looked at the servant from the mirror, backing up and straightening himself out "Uh- No, thats all... thanks" he said, leaving the area quickly, escaping to the only place he knew hadn't changed. His room.

Zuko nearly bolted in, closing the doors behind him, ignoring the guards greeting as he passed them. He leaned his head against the door, letting out a sigh of relief "Busy day at work sweetie?" Zuko's ears perked up to the intruders voice, he turned his body slightly "Mai? What are you doing here?" and then it hit him, she was also naked "I was just waiting for you love" Okay, this went from a weird dream to an even weirder one! "Now come to bed before I have to do something... rash" she said seductively, crawling to the end of the bed.

*_knock knock* _

Zuko jumped back a bit by the sudden knocking "Wh-who is it?" he asked shakily "Its Azula dummy, I got bored and did most the torturing on the ship over here, the boys are taking care of the girl right now so we'll interrogate Jet first, then the brother, then her, then back to Jet until we get the answers we want" Zuko looked from the girl on the bed back to the door "Be right there!" he said, unlocking the door and grabbing Azula's hand, jetting down the hall towards the dungeon.

"Was Mai in there?" Azula asked with a smirk as he led her down each hall "Uh, no... I'm just having a very... strange day" he said, running all of the days events through his head, all that had happened and it was barely one in the afternoon! "Zuko? Zukoo...ZUKO!" Zuko turned back to his sister "What?" she rolled her eyes, pulling her hand away from him, pointing towards a locked door "You passed it" rolling her eyes again she laughed lightly "You're a really weird guy sometimes" she commented, unlocking the door. The two made their way down the stone spiral staircase that could make about anyone claustrophobic.

"After you sir" she said signalling him to go in the room she'd just unlocked. A single light shone above a metal table. Zuko looked down at a mess of brown hair, sticking up every which way.

"Alright, Jet" she said with malice in her voice, typical Azula voice though "Head up, we've got some questions for you" the boy refused to look at them, Azula met eyes with the guard, exchanging an unsaid order, she nodded in approval as he reached down, grabbing a handful of hair and forcing his head up. Jet grimaced at this, finally meeting their eyes, looking at the two with hatred. Zuko locked eyes with Jet, taking in his appearance, his messed up hair, bruised cheek, a cut along his forehead, his green eyes with that familiar gold glint in the- green? "Thats not Jet..." he gasped out, probably a little louder than he should have. It was Sai! He knew those eyes all too well "Sai?" he nearly shouted, clearly confused "Sai? What're you talking about, this is Jet." Sai's eyes filled with fear by their sudden discovery "_How did he know my real name?" _that look gave away the truth "I don't know how you knew but... Good job" Azula said with a wink, crossing closer to Sai "Alright, you've been found out. I suppose the first question is, is everyone here who they say they are?" Sai remained silent "You'd better tell me boy, are you really the leader?" Azula's temper rose as she slammed a lighted fist down, Sai brought his hands off the table as the metal began to get a light orange color "Why won't you answer me damn it?" Sai looked up at Azula, glaring at her "Where is she? Is she alright?" Smirking Azula acquired the leverage she wanted "She...should be" Azula chose her words carefully "I'm not answering any questions until I see her" he answered stubbornly, Azula looked thoughtful before nodding to the guards to unlock the chain around his ankle and place handcuffs on him so they could walk to a secure room.

"Stay in here, I'll be back" she said, pushing him into a large room "Zuko, you go, I'll keep watch" she said, tossing a set of keys at him, Zuko nodded, he wasn't sure how to act in this world... was it the real world? Or just a mind trick from the spirit world? Its all just so confusing "Sir, its this room" a guard said, motioning to a room at the end of the dark corridor, Zuko turned the silver key, opening the door. As soon as he entered the room, lighted only by a grate in the ceiling, he was greeted by a shriek of pain the person had tried to muffle but failed to do so "Let her go" Zuko ordered "The boy wishes to speak with her" one guard looked to the other, both nodding in agreement. Zuko walked closer, he stared as his eyes adjusted to the bad lighting. Zuko's eyes widened at what he saw. There was a large chain holding both the girls hands up in the air, clearly too high though since she had to stand on her tip toes, the girls black hair had been wrapped up in a messy bun to keep it out of the way, her back was the worst part though, there were long gashes that could easily be infected if not treated properly... soon. Zuko heard a click as the unlocked the shackles "She's all yours sir" a guard said, pushing her towards him, Zuko barely had enough time to catch her, falling to his knees. "Are you alright?" he half-whispered, pulling her into his arms, the girl looked up at him with a confused stare "Yes... sir" Zuko examined her, her knuckles had been bleeding, there was a long gash along her right cheek, her left eye was swollen shut obscuring her beautiful blue and gold eyes, thats when it hit him "Tiana?" he whispered, she looked at him with the same look as before "How do you know my name?" Zuko was slightly hurt she didn't recognize him but then again did he expect her to? "I... have to get you to see someone..." he said sadly, remembering that Azula was waiting and worse things might happen to them if they didn't get over there. Zuko stood with her in his arms "Sir, you don't have to do-" Zuko had to only glare at the guard to make him shut up as he carried her towards the room.

"About time you got back" Azula complained "What took you so long? And why are you carrying the prisoner? Oh well, no matter to me, just throw her in there" Azula said, asking and answering her own questions "Thanks" Tiana whispered lightly as Zuko carefully placed her down in the cell after a guard had unlocked the large barred doors. "You have five minutes together alright? We'll be over there" she said, pointing towards a spot about ten feet away "And don't try anything crafty or so help me I'll burn your faces off" she said walking off "C'mon Zuko" Zuko reluctantly followed, looking back at the two as Sai crawled over to Tiana who lay, exhausted, against a wall, Sai pulled her closer to him, whispering what Zuko was guessing were comforting words before stealing a kiss, now that really hurt to see .

"Pathetic don't you think so Zuko?" Azula commented, referring to the couple "What's so pathetic?" Zuko asked, unable to tear away from the couple, now he knew how Sai must feel when he sees them together "Them, they act like nothing else in the world matters" Zuko smirked "Thats because nothing in the world **does** matter since they have each other... its all they've got" Azula shrugged "Eh... Maybe, I still say its pathetic" she said, tapping her foot impatiently. The siblings remained in relative silence for the next five minutes, Zuko could only stare on at the couple with envy basically branded on his forehead. Azula stared closely at the sand hourglass as the last pieces finally fell through.

"Well you two, times up. And you know what that means" she said as she nearly skipped towards the larger interrogation cell, unlocking the door she was followed in by Zuko and four other guards. Sai and Tiana sat unmoving on the cold cement floor, Sai pulling her closer "Lets go" Azula said, motioning to the guards. Two of the guards nearly peeled Sai away as the snapped a pair of all too small shackles on his wrists. Azula roughly yanked Tiana up from the ground, allowing the guards to put another pair of shackles on her as well before guiding the two out of the holding cell. Azula approached a room that Tiana had recently become very familiar with, her eyes filled with fear and almost instinctively she tried to flee, the guards apparently not expecting this had let her go, tears filling her eyes she didn't notice when she'd ran smack into Zuko who was just now leaving the interrogation cell. Zuko looked down at her with surprise "I'm s-s-s-orry" she blubbered, falling to her knees and pulling him down with her "Its fine, don't be...if anything Im the one who should be sorry... Im going to get you out of here.. I promise" he murmured "Oh, you caught her... Good job Zuko, I"ll take her now" Zuko looked at Tiana who mouthed 'don't let her take me there again' to him "Uh- I think um- I'll take her to my room" Azula smirked "To do what?" Zuko shrugged "You know... stuff" Azula nodded in approval "Do what you please" she added "We'll get the brother out here and I'll update you in the morning... or at dinner, depends on your... schedule" she said with a wink "Alright Azula, don't have too much fun" he said, trying to keep up the light conversation "Key" Zuko said, holding his hand out "Um... Sir, you shouldn't unlock her shackles until you reach your room" a guard said "Key" Zuko had more force in his voice this time, the guard dare not question his decision twice, giving him the brass key "Thank you" Zuko picked Tiana up and climbed the spiral staircase.

It didn't take long to reach Zuko's room "Uh... Wait here... and don't go anywhere, okay?" it really wasn't an order it was more of a request "Okay" Zuko looked at her seriously "Okay?" he asked again to make sure, an all too familiar smile appeared "Okay" Zuko nodded "Excellent" he said, turning back to the door. Zuko carefully turned the brass knob, scanning the room, or more specifically the bed, for unwanted visitors "Alright, its clear" Zuko said, leading Tiana into his room, Tiana stared around the room "Its very... red" Zuko let out a laugh "Yeah, it is" he agreed "Alright sit on the bed" she was about to before she looked at him curiously "Why?" Zuko looked at her with the same serious look as before "I'm not going to do anything weird, alright? You just sit there while I get some medicine and bandages" Tiana didn't know why but she trusted the Prince but she did. It wasn't too much later when Zuko came back with a basket of medical supplies.

Zuko looked thoughtful for a moment, taking in her appearance "Do you want to take a bath?" he asked suddenly, he saw the nervous look in her eyes "Alone of course" he added "Oh, yeah sure... thanks" Zuko pointed out where the bathroom was "And um... clean towels are on a metal rack beside the tub... you'll see it" Tiana nodded, walking into the bathroom but before shutting the door she locked eyes with Zuko "You know... You're not a bad guy... So ... thanks" she smiled slightly before disappearing behind the door . Zuko flopped back on the bed, staring at the ceiling "_What is this place? She's with Sai? I have to get her back... even though technically I never had her here... But thats not the point... She needs to be mine again! Especially if wherever I am is permanent" _sighing Zuko closed his eyes, unexpectedly drifting off to sleep.

_**Much Later**_

Zuko's weary eyes were greeted by the blinding rising sun "_Damn it! I slept the rest of the day away?" _Zuko nearly threw himself out of bed. He rubbed his eyes, letting out a loud yawn, he hadn't noticed the figure sleeping on the rug at the foot of his bed "What the hell?" Zuko tripped over the now wide awake girl, catching himself before he collided with the hard floor. Blinking a few times, Tiana let her eyes adjust "What are you doing there?" Zuko asked as he assumed a sitting position "I was sleeping?" she said slowly, unsure as to why he'd ask such an obvious question "Why would you sleep on the floor? You could've slept in the bed with m-" he cut himself off "_Shoot! I forgot where I was for a second. Ugh- Get a grip Zuko!" _Tiana stared at him with a worried stare "Were you about to say... 'With me'?" Zuko's eyes shifted around the room as he tried to quickly think of a valid reply "With mattress" he babbled out "With... Mattress?" Zuko nodded anxiously as he tried to cover up his faux pas "Well not 'with mattress' but- well...What I meant was- Uhm... With... the mattress... since its... more cozier and warmer and ... fluffy...er" Tiana chuckled "You're a silly boy, you know that, right?" Zuko let out a short nervous laugh.

The two began talking, the conversation started out basic enough, Tiana was still wary about what he should tell him, how much she should tell him but those feelings soon went away, the conversation grew friendlier as the hours passed, starting at 'What's your favorite color?' to discussing modern technology to politics. Neither one had noticed that the sun had rose and set, the guards had merely delivered food at the door, plates piling on his desk. Finally their lighthearted chat had been forced to a halt by Azula's insistent raps on the door "What do you want Azula?" he called through the door "The prisoner, its time to move her back to her cell" Zuko and Tiana exchanged looks before Tiana hesitantly stood "Alright, I suppose it'd be best I go back..." Zuko stood after her "I guess so..." Tiana was about to turn the brass door knob before Zuko covered her hand "Wait... just a second" he ran over to a gold desk, snatching a small rectangular shaped paper and scribbling down a note, folding it neatly. "Here..." Tiana eyed him curiously as she began to unravel the note "No, don't read it till later" smiling she acknowledged his request, hiding the parchment beneath a bandage on her hand "Smart girl" he whispered, opening the door to reveal a pissed off looking Azula "Fine morning isn't it Azula?" Zuko asked while watching over her shoulder as two guards guided Tiana back to the prison cell "Its the evening moron" Zuko shrugged "Do you realize what I've been through?" she asked "No, I don't" Zuko resumed his normal uncaring voice "I've been having to put up with Mai's insistent complaining about how 'Zuko's ignoring me' or how she couldn't find you or how you don't share things with her, and blah blah blah, bitch bitch bitch" Azula leaned against the door frame with a sigh "So.. How has your day been?" she asked casually, peeking past Zuko to check out the state of the room "Looks like you didn't break anything" Zuko turned his head to see his room which was in perfect condition "Yeah... we didn't" Azula cocked an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she stood straight up "You feeling okay? You've been acting more distant than usual..." Azula looked to Zuko with genuine concern "Did I do something to upset you? I'm sorry if I did" Zuko was taken back by his ordinarily volatile sisters concerned voice "Uh- No, I'm fine... You didn't do anything, I guess I'm just tired" smiling Azula playfully punched Zuko in the shoulder "Excellent, by the way our cousin is leaving to go back to war in a few days" Zuko eyed her curiously "Cousin?" Azula nodded "You know, our cousin? Lu Ten? Don't you remember? He was here to join us for mourning the loss of the Fire Lord?" Zuko's eyes were probably bugging out "Fathers dead?" Azula almost had to jump back a step "No! Where would you get that? Our dear Uncle Iroh died from a stroke last week! Father is now the Fire Lord but he isn't dead. By the way, he wanted me to tell you that he's going to try his best to attend your eighteenth birthday party tomorrow" Zuko ran a hand through his hair "What are you talking about? My birthday isn't tomorrow" Azula laughed, placing a hand on her brothers shoulder "Oh dear, you have been under quite a bit of stress, so much you've forgotten your own birthday. Get some rest, the celebration is tomorrow night. Goodnight ZuZu" Zuko lifted his hand as a sort of wave "Night Azula" Zuko shook his head as if to shake something out of his hair, suddenly a thought hit him "Hey, Azula!" he called, Azula whipped around from down the hall "Who's winning the war?" Azula laughed "We did brother, last year! We're in the clean-up stage now!"she yelled back "And the avatar?" she shrugged "Never showed up!" Azula waved as she continued to walk back to her room.

"_He never showed up?... " _Zuko went over the information about the Fire Nation winning over and over again in his mind. Tiana's bruised and battered body popped into his head, his promise written on paper "I have to stop them" he said out loud, immediately running to his closet where he once more adorned a mask, once more he became the Blue Spirit.

* * *

_Back in the prison cells_

Tiana ran her finger against the blunt edge of the ripped paper. The still wet ink had smeared slightly against the opposite side of the paper but it was still readable, and what had it said? Four words, those words were those of a traitor to his nation "_I will save you"_ Simple enough but the penalty for helping a fugitive, no matter your position is death, and depending on your rank is the severity of the punishment. Tiana could barely imagine the sort of punishment they'd inflict upon their own beloved prince for betraying his nation.

"So did he try anything?" Sai asked from the cell opposite of her "You've already asked this and I told you. No, he didn't... He's really a kind person" Sai looked at her incredulously "I can't believe it... You spend only a few moments with him and he's got you infatuated with him already? What happened to your loyalty to the freedom of every other nation?" Tiana snapped out of her daze "I am loyal!" she retorted "Okay, you say you're loyal but you have yet to deny that you're infatuated with him?" Tiana opened her mouth to speak but words failed to come out "He must've put you under some sort of spell... or something! Its all the fire-nation... They're all evil! Because no way would you actually fall for him..." Sai stared at her for a few moments "I can't explain it... I feel like... Like I've known him for a long time...like somewhere else we were meant to be" Tiana admitted knowing hiding what she thought was a bad idea with him "You've only spoken with him twice! Nobody falls for another that quickly!" Tiana felt her temper growing "You did!" she tried not to yell "Yeah, but with you it was different! You're not Fire-nation scum like he is!" Tiana shook her head "Yes- Yes I am! Don't you get it? Fire nation blood flows through my veins! I can't pretend like it doesn't, and neither can you. You see this?" she asked, pointing to her good eye "What do you see?" Sai shook his head "I see a beautiful girl" he said, avoiding the actual answer. She remained silent and unmoving until he gave the answer she wanted "Fine, I see gold" he admitted "And you're the same, you see Sai? Fire nation isn't all bad. Sure they've made terrible choices but we can't hold the choices of a few people against an entire nation. There's bound to be one!" Sai stood, beginning to pace "Its like a needle in a haystack Tiana." Tiana smiled and walked over to the bars "Yeah, thats true. But I think I found that needle"

"But... What if he's pla-" Something coming from outside the prison cells a few guards frantic "Who are you?" and "Help! We have an intruder!" had been cut short. The two watched as four guards tumbled down the steps, one after the other. "What in the world?" suddenly the said intruder came down the steps, seeming to almost glide along the cold stone. He ran straight to Tiana's cell. She stared at him, seeming to be petrified "Who are you?" she whispered, examining the ornate mask he wore, the figure stared a moment longer before producing a set of keys stolen from an unconscious guard. She listened intently for the *click* in the lock signifying her freedom. And then it came, feelings of relief flooded into her "Thank you" she said, smiling. "Can you help my friend too?" she asked, walking out of her cell and over to Sai's. The masked saviour looked from her and then to Sai before nodding, he unlocked Sai's cell with ease. Signaling the two to follow him. Pressing his palm against a loose stone steps appeared before them, leading beneath the wall. The two exchanged uneasy glances "He did save us after all" Tiana reasoned, following him down, and then Sai followed her.

For the most part they remained two steps behind him, until they hit an extremely dark tunnel "We're going to have to turn back" Sai said, already turning to go, the figure shook his head, putting his hand out signaling for them to stay. Both remained still as the figure performed a fire-bending move, lighting a line of previously unseen torches on either side of the path "Fire bender?" Sai muttered. Tiana followed the two, falling back slightly as she marveled at the torches on either side, in awe about how he managed to light all of them leading up to the exit, that had to have been at least a hundred feet or so.

_**"**_C'mon Tiana" Sai said, grabbing her arm and pulling her along "So when are we going to be safe oh great fire bender?" Sai asked sarcastically "Soon" he muttered, leading them over a steep hill. Once they'd reached the top Tiana gasped "Whats wrong?" Sai rushed to her side "Its just beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, clearly too distracted to properly respond to Sai. Sai looked at what she was staring at, the hill had over looked the entire fire-nation with the palace standing tall in the center "If thats your idea of beauty..." Tiana turned to look at Sai "What do you mean? Just because you hold a grudge doesn't mean this can't be beautiful!" Sai threw his hands in the air "What? Yes it can. You know what this-this- scum did to our families and what do you do to honor their deaths? You **marvel **at the view" emotions somewhere between confused, sad, and angry flickered in Tiana's eyes "How dare you" she whispered "That was the past! I've been telling you and Jet for years to just move on! You have each other! But that stupid brother of yours just can't get passed the fact that his parents- **Your** parents got swept away in a fire that just **happened** to have been started by a drunk fire nation soldi-" Sai slapped her hard across the face sending her to the ground "No- How dare **you**! Maybe you're right, we have gotten too caught up in revenge but don't you forget who's side you're on. Don't you forget that a fire nation raped you for fun and got away with it, not to mention that your 'father' raped your mother and got her pregnant" Tears welled up in the girls eyes as she sat, Sai stared at her with regret, he began reaching down to her "Listen..I shouldn't hav-" his arm was stopped by the shadowy figures grip "I think you should go take a walk" Sai nodded in agreement.

Once Sai was out of site the figure fell to his knees beside him, she stared at him, hesitating for a moment before throwing herself into his chest, crying loudly. The figure stroked her hair gently, mumbling words of comfort. She looked up at him through teary eyes, daringly placing one hand on his mask, lifting it up revealing none other than the prince himself "You kept your promise" she whispered, showing him the note he'd given her. Like she wasn't able to contain herself as she impulsively kissed him. Zuko didn't remain stunned like he would've had this been his first time kissing her. Placing his hand on the small of her back, eventually the two pulled back for air. "So you realize this is treason, right?" Zuko shrugged "It happens" he said with a smile.

The two sat where they remained in silence, overlooking the city as they waited for Sai to return.

Zuko shifted a few times before sitting up, the sun blinding him "_Ugh, why am I so achy?" _he wondered, bringing his arms over his head to stretch "Mornin' stranger!" Zuko's eye's slowly wandered from the ground up to her "Morning..." he said groggily as his eyes slowly adjusted "You sleep in late... For a firebender" she teased "You get up early... for a half-breed" he added with a sly smile, her face grew serious "How'd you know that?" Zuko cocked an eyebrow "Your eyes" she looked at him curiously "They're blue and gold... Water tribe and Fire nation" Tiana brought a hand up to cup the side of her face "Well, I guess that does make sense!" she said cheerily

Sai walked over to the two "Uhm... I thought I'd apologize... About last night, it was wrong of me to say those things..." he stared at the ground, not wanting to meet their potentially judging gaze, he soon found his hands being covered "Its alright, I know you miss your brother... We'll get him back" Tiana looked back at Zuko when she said the last words. Pulling out of her grip he walked over to Zuko "I'm sorry... I judged you when I shouldn't have" he held his hand out to shake with Zuko who took it willingly "Its fine, I understand" Sai turned to walk away when Zuko called out his name "We can get your brother back" He said evenly "Wha- How? I doubt we'll be able to break him out the same way you broke us out... " he reasoned sadly "True, but tonight is the Fire Prince's 18th birthday..." Tiana and Sai listened to him intently "And its a masquerade" The two got where he was going "So we sneak in as guest's" Tiana said, smirking "Yes, it'll be no problem, I"ll get you invitations signed by myself" Sai stroked his chin "But what about the guards, there's still that problem" Zuko shook his head "Not really. Its a party, the guards will be slap happy drunk... Especially if I send down a few... dozen cases of the strongest fire whisky in the area" Sai laughed "You're brilliant! So what's the plan?" he asked "Its simple really, we can do it in a small series of steps" Zuko said evenly, drawing the two closer.

* * *

I was initially going to go through the whole chapter and just make it super long and this whole alternate universe/dream sequence part but I wanted to upload something this Friday! If I finish the next part by tonight I'll upload it sometime tomorrow, if not... You'll be waiting until next week.

Again, I apologize for it being so rushed.


	12. Chapter 12

I return to do this dream sequence thingy so without further ado let us begin this adventure! :)

*I don't own avatar*

* * *

_Previously _

_"Its alright, I know you miss your brother... We'll get him back" Tiana looked back at Zuko when she said the last words. Pulling out of her grip he walked over to Zuko "I'm sorry... I judged you when I shouldn't have" he held his hand out to shake with Zuko who took it willingly "Its fine, I understand" Sai turned to walk away when Zuko called out his name "We can get your brother back" He said evenly "Wha- How? I doubt we'll be able to break him out the same way you broke us out... " he reasoned sadly "True, but tonight is the Fire Prince's 18th birthday..." Tiana and Sai listened to him intently "And its a masquerade" The two got where he was going "So we sneak in as guest's" Tiana said, smirking "Yes, it'll be no problem, I"ll get you invitations signed by myself" Sai stroked his chin "But what about the guards, there's still that problem" Zuko shook his head "Not really. Its a party, the guards will be slap happy drunk... Especially if I send down a few... dozen cases of the strongest fire whisky in the area" Sai laughed "You're brilliant! So what's the plan?" he asked "Its simple really, we can do it in a small series of steps" Zuko said evenly, drawing the two closer. _

_

* * *

_

_Step One: Getting the goods _

The three entered town using clothes Zuke er- borrowed from a visiting earth kingdom politician and his wife. The trio made their way through the crowds which was relatively simple taking the fact that they were three political officials, one of which was their own prince. Tiana felt suddenly insecure by the intense stares from the people they passed, women looking on enviously as she walked with her hands being held by both Zuko and Sai.

"Zuko, are you sure these disguises are working?" Sai asked, unsure of it "Yeah, I doubt anyone will recognize you with that patch over you eye" he said confidently "Nobody pays that much attention to the prisoners" Sai nodded "I guess so, lucky Tiana knows how to heal or we'd stick out like a sore thumb with those injuries" he whispered "Yeah - very lucky" Zuko said, looking down to the girl "So where are we going?" Tiana asked, checking out the types of stores "A dress shop" he replied simply "Like this one" He added, leading the two towards an ornate shop that sat a few feet away from a beautiful marble fountain. Stopping suddenly Zuko bowed slightly "Milady" Tiana giggled at his chivalrous act "Why thank you sir" Zuko nodded formally before following her in, barely holding it open long enough for Sai to catch it.

"This place is amazing!" Tiana took in the site of the store, womens costume's lined one side of the store, mens costumes on the other. She moved over to feel the smoothness of the silk on one of the kimono's. Zuko walked over to the counter "Prince Zuko!" a surprised shopkeeper greeted "What brings you to our humble store?" he asked, abandoning whatever he'd been working on "My birthday party is tonight... Its a masquerade. We're just looking to find something nice to wear" The shopkeeper smiled knowingly "Splendid sir! We do have the best masks in the area... Not to brag of course! My name is " Zuka bowed his head slightly "Thank you ... I was wondering if we may be able to rent out your store for a short period of time... " cut him off "Yes sir, I understand completely! Feel free! I'll lock up, just let me go get the keys in the back. I'll send out my assistant! It'll just be a moment" he said smiling.

Zuko made his way over to check out a robe that had caught his attention towards the front of the store when a young woman, about twenty emerged from the back of the store "Miss I-" the woman lifted her hand in a shooing manner "I'll be with you in a moment ma'am" she said, making a beeline for Zuko. Tiana went back to examining the quality, a sheer blush across her face from the slight embarrassment "Prince Zuko, what a surprise! My names Leia How may I assist you?" She asked with a flirty tone "How may you assist me?" Zuko asked earning a nod "How about before you 'assist' me you do your job and help her first or the next time you come into work you'll find out you don't have a job" he said with irritation in his voice "I-uh... I apologize sir for angering you." her face turned white "Ma'am how may I help you?" she asked, attempting to hide her flustered state "Oh uhm... I was just wondering if you can help me find the right size" the woman looked her over "Well... This one specifically runs a little big... What size do you usually wear?" Tiana's eyes shifted around the room "Uh- small? ... extra small?" she guessed "Have you ever bought a dress from here before ma'am?" Tiana shook her head "No worries miss, we can take your measurements in the back" she said with a genuine smile plastered across her features. She then led Tiana towards the back room, turning to the boys "If you need anything just ask . I'm going to be helping your friend exclusively" Tiana looked back at the boys with a slight nervous expression. "Sounds great" Zuko said, watching as they disappeared behind a pair of curtains.

The two browsed the store for about forty minutes before both finding what they wanted. Sai chose a deep blue samurai styled outfit, silver armor covering the front, the helmet was silver with black edges "If I may so sir, you look wonderful!" commented as he entered the room while Sai checked out the look of the costume in the mirror "Oh- Uh... thanks" Zuko then stepped out of his dressing room. "Wow! Prince Zuko, that should most definitely be your choice!" he complimented. Zuko checked himself out in the mirror, examining the details of the ornate golden waistcoat, covering a white linen shirt that had a ruff. Zuko then straightened out his black silk coat "It is a nice fit... The tights might be a bit much" he commented "Oh sir! Those are quite fashionable! And they look great on you if I may so so sir" Zuko had to agree that they added a nice touch "Alright, we'll take these costumes... Like we previous mentioned, we'll also be needing a set of masks." The man nodded "Of course sir! Follow me this way" Sai hesitated for a moment "Wouldn't you like us to change back into our normal clothes first?" shook his head "Nope! This way we may see what looks best on you WITH your costume sir!" he said, walking out of the room and into a room exclusively for masks.

Zuko and Sai had chosen their masks, hanging around the store until Tiana finally emerged from the back "Which did you pick?" Sai asked, eying up the dress bag she held "I-" Leia moved forward to stand beside Tiana "Sorry sir but you'll just have to wait till tonight. Speaking of which, I'd like to steal her for the day so she may be really beautiful by tonight. I'll drop her off of course" Zuko's looked at Leai with suspicion "Is this what you want Tiana?" he asked "Yeah, I think it'll be nice" Zuko nodded "Alright, here's the invitation then." he said, handing her a gold envelope that had the royal crest stamped on the back "We'll be waiting for you" he added before slinging his costume over his shoulder "Be careful" Sai said, drawing her into a hug before following Zuko out.

* * *

_Step two: Getting in_

Zuko tapped his foot as he grew impatient. Luckily so far nobody had recognized him as Prince Zuko so right now he was just Zuko "Hey, Zuko" Sai called as he approached the prince, a woman dressed like Cleopatra's ears perked up at the sound of the young princes name "Oh, hey Sai" the young prince greeted "Have you seen Tiana? I was waiting by the entrance for ten minutes before coming in "No, I've been looking out for both of you since the party started" he said, still looking around. "Maybe we should hang around closer to the entrance to the courtyard?" Sai suggested. Zuko remained unmoving for a second before nodding in agreement and made his way over to the entrance, not knowing that they were being followed by the young woman who was dressed as Cleopatra. Zuko leaned against a wall, stopping a waiter to take a glass of champagne "Do you need anything sir?" the waiter asked "Uh... no, thanks" Zuko took a few sips of his champagne before he was interrupted by the young woman "Excuse me sir" she said with a sultry voice "Yeah?" he asked "I just have to say... You have the most beautiful mask" she sighed dreamily at the elaborate black bird-shaped mask that was lined with gold "Oh... thanks" he said, caught slightly off guard by the strange compliment. Suddenly the musicians began to play "Dance with me" she half-demanded "I'd like to but I can't becau-" Zuko's attention was grabbed by Sai's insistent tapping on his shoulder "What Sai? Can't you see I'm talking to some-... one" he took in the sites of a young woman who entered the room dressed in a form-fitting white and gold strapless gown, a v-shaped gold embellishment going down the center and disappearing behind a wide gold sash covering her stomach, the gown swaying as she descended down to the courtyard.

"May I have this dance?" Zuko asked in his most gentlemenly voice "Alright" she replied, holding her hand for him to lead her out to the dance floor which he did. All eyes were on them as the young couple glided around the stone floor. "Why's everyone staring?" she asked shyly "Because you're so beautiful he whispered as he drew her close during their waltz, he smiled to himself as a blush crept across her face "No, thats not it... I just hadn't realized you were such an eligible bachelor" she half-joked "But I'm not" her eyes grew sad "Right... I forgot... You have a fiancee.. Mai, right?" she asked "_No, you" _he thought to himself "No, not her.." he suddenly had an idea "Come with me" he told her, leading her back through the palace and to a set of doors.

"Whats in there?" she asked "Not in, out" smirking he opened the doors, revealing a beautiful garden "Wow... its breathtaking!" she said, walking past Zuko and kneeling beside a pond "I- hm..." Zuko moved to kneel beside her "What?" she knitted her eyebrows together "I don't know... I just can't help but feeling I've been here before... Zuko, may I say something... Even though it may sound weird?" Zuko waited patiently, giving her a silent consent "I feel like... Like we were fated to meet, like the spirits wanted... want us to be together... I just feel like I know so much about you and that we are supposed to be together" she turned away shyly, blushing "Oh, that was silly... Forget I said anything. Lets just return to the party!" she turned, ready to run back when Zuko caught her by the wrist "You're right, completely and totally" he drew her close "Now its my turn to sound crazy" he whispered "I'm not from ... here... Like I'm technically from here but not in this timeline. Where I come from we won the war! Not the fire nation. My sister and I hate each other, Mai is psychotic, and I have a scar that took some of my sight from me that I got from my own father" Tiana eyed him curiously "And us?..." she asked, a hopeful glint in her eye "We're engaged... Been engaged, for the past few months" Tiana smiled wide "So why are you here? Are you here permanently?" she asked "No... I mean... I don't know... Even though you and her are the same... And I love you both... I still miss the one from my time" Tiana placed a gentle hand on his own "I understand" she took a step back, placing her hand on her hip "Now we had better get you back so you can marry me! I mean her... I mean... sheesh! This is confusing" she said the last part in a slight defeated tone earning a chuckle from Zuko.

Sai then peered around the corner "There you two are! We need to go and finish this so stop dilly dallying" he eyed the two suspiciously "What were you two doing?" he asked "Oh you know, talking. You do know how I like to dilly dally!" Tiana joked as she made her way up towards Sai. Sai looked at Zuko who just shrugged and followed her back into the palace.

* * *

_Step three: Distraction_

"You ready Sai?" Tiana asked in a whisper "Sure, fantastic" he said while downing a full glass of champagne "Woah, don't really get drunk now!" she warned, taking his champagne flute away "Don't worry, I'll do my part, you just do yours and get my brother out" Tiana nodded "I still wish that I could be helping more than just this..." he admitted sadly, Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder "This is a very important part though! If not for this then we wouldn't be able to get him out at all" Sai gave the two a crooked smile "Thanks you two... Now you'd better go" Tiana and Zuko nodded, making their ways down a dark hall.

"_You can do this Sai" _Sai got himself pumped up before nearly sprinting to the center of the courtyard "Wellll hi there fella! Whas your name?" he asked, half-hanging on one of the many guests. The man straightened himself out "General Ling Hua" Sai made a 'drunken' attempt at a whistle "Now that is a very" he hiccuped "fancy title there, very pretty indeed... Almost as pretty as your escort" the mans temper was clearly flaring up "Thats my daughter" Sai bent slightly and squinted his eyes moving face to face with the girl "I was thinking she might be a bit young for you mister" General Hua looked over Sai with disgust, lifting his arm off of his shoulder "Please leave us alone" he asked as politely as he could muster, resuming his waltz with his daughter "Well alright then!" Sai then began dancing with his invisible dance partner. Spying Tiana looking on from the corner of the room he shot her a wink earning a smile before she disappeared into the shadows.

"He is doing a fantastic job!" Tiana commented as Zuko led them to his room, barely looking back he merely gave a slight nod, not bothering to comment. The two had barely reached his door when a voice broke through the eerily silent hall "Zuzu? What're you doing?" the voice asked, moving closer "Azula!" he moved Tiana behind him like he'd done so many times before "Why aren't you at your own party" Zuko tried to think up an excuse "Ah... just getting away from all the noise... headaches, you know how it is." Azula smiled at him slyly "Do you always bring pretty company when you are 'getting away from the noise'?" Zuko's heart was racing "I-uhm" Azula then punched him playfully on the shoulder "Don't worry, I won't tell Mai. So what's her name?" Zuko's mind went through a thousand and one different names, unable to choose one when a hand jetted out in front of him "My name is Xiu" she replied with a heavy accent "Ahh... Xiu... interesting... Well have a good time you two... One of us children should attend the party"

When she was far enough away Zuko let out a sigh of relief "Thanks Xiu" he said with a wink, opening the door to his room "No problem sah"

* * *

_Step four: Breaking him out_

The two made their ways down the spiral stone steps, peering around the corner only to be greeted by the sounds of merry laughter. Zuko led the way through, making a hand gesture for her to follow, both cringed, unwilling to move when he had accidentally kicked an empty bottle of fire whisky. Slowly Zuko bent down to pick it up, shaking it in front of Tiana's face "Told you it'd work" he whispered, placing the bottle back down on the floor quietly.

Zuko waited behind a corner, looking around it for a second to check out how many guards there were "How many?" she asked quietly "Only three" Even though her face had been covered he could tell she wore a shocked expression "So three of them... Finished all of that?" she asked in wonder, gesturing to the six empty cases of fire whisky. Zuko shrugged, quickly rounding the corner.

"Hey you can't be down here!" a drunken guard yelled attempting to pull his sword out but failing horribly. Zuko moved around the room with ease, knocking the three out" placing her hands on her hips Tiana pulled down her mask "Seriously? You said I'd get at least one!" Zuko smirked, kissing her forehead as he passed her to retrieve the keys hanging on the door and tossing them to her "Go find Sai's brother, I'll tie these guys up" Tiana nodded, making her way down a separate hall.

Zuko tied the knot on the last guys rope when he heard a cuss word echoing down the hall from where Tiana was, he darted down the hall "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly "Only that!" she exclaimed, directing his attention to a very... large guy "_When did we hire him?" _the large man growled "I'll take the two rats, you go get more help" he directed the smaller man cowering behind him who listened without question, dashing past the two "Go get him! I've got this!" Zuko shouted, Tiana nodded "Ah.. sending the little girl tuh get him" he laughed "How pathetic" suddenly the man took a wild swing at Zuko catching him off guard and sending him flying through a wooden prison door "You look good in dere little man" Zuko shook his head in an attempt to regain his senses, suddenly noticing a rope that held the old large lamp in the other room "_Now the hard part... Drawing him out of here" _Zuko pretended to be unmoving, allowing the guard to get closer before sprinting and leaping over the guys shoulder. "Come on in here and get me!" Zuko taunted, his eyes shifting from the rather large guard and the light "You're gonna get it now little man!" he threatened, charging after Zuko who in a split second whipped out his dagger and slashed the rope sending it flying down onto the guards head "That wasn't fair" the guard said before losing consciousness.

"Nice" Tiana complimented as she entered the room "Thanks, and the other guard?" he asked "Tied up with the rest." the guard groaned in pain on the floor "We should move quickly!" Tiana said while knocking on the cells which were mostly empty "Jet? Jet? Jet are you in here?" Tiana asked, peering into the slots that allowed you to see into the cells "Wait... Jet is Sai's brother?"Zuko asked incredulously "Well...Yeah...Why?" Zuko shook his head "No reason... just surprises me"

"Tiana?" A voice croaked from behind one of the cell doors "I found him!" Zuko ran over to the cell he was in. Tiana fumbled with the keys before finally finding the one that fit in his cell. Jet nearly fell out of his cell into Tiana's arms "Is Sai okay?" he asked, clearly worried "Sai's fine! He's waiting for you right now in fact" Zuko nodded in agreement "If our timing is right then he'll be waiting in the hall for us to send you up via the dumbwaiter "Alright" he responded feebly.

Zuko helped Jet walk back to the guards lounge, helping him into the dumbwaiter and pulling on the rope to alert Sai who had a servants outfit ready for Jet so they could get out without the questions as to why a very sick looking man was being half-dragged out of the palace.

* * *

"We did it!" Zuko said happily "Here are our costumes" Zuko said, throwing Tiana's dress at her "You get dressed first Zuko, I'll keep watch" Zuko nodded in agreement. Tiana looked down at the guards who were all still quite knocked out "_One, two three, fo-" _Tiana bent down to the three to see that one of them had gotten away "Oh gosh! Zuko we have a problem!" she said, picking up the loose rope and bringing it over to him. Zuko had just put on his jacket when she brought over the rope "This isn't good!" Tiana said, her ears perking up when she heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the steps. Thinking quickly she grabbed her costume and Zuko's stealth clothes and threw them into a fire "What'd you do that for?" Zuko asked.

She wasn't given the chance to tell him when they were joined by a dozen more guards with Azula leading the pack "Zuko! Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, stepping closer. Tiana pulled her knife out and holding it dangerously close to Zuko's neck "_Tiana, what are you doing?" _he thought with confusion "Move closer and he dies!" she threatened "Stay calm" Tiana looked around the room wildly. She moved close to Zuko's ear "Forgive me" she whispered before stabbing him in the stomach, simultaneously hitting a pressure point that made him lose consciousness "Tiana?" he asked, probably remaining unheard. The last thing he saw was Tiana's palms being absorbed in a swirl of water and fire.

* * *

Thats it for this one. Good gracious, this is going on a lot longer than I thought it would but I'm almost absolutely positive I'll be done by the next chapter! :)

Review pleasseeee :) I might have cookies?


	13. Chapter 13

So... Its been a really... really long time -.- I'm sorry! I just got unbelievably busy, more so than I could've anticipated! (Thats a lie) So when I get my downtime I just watch tv or play video games

Anyways! I hope this chapter can make up for my slacking xP

*I don't own anything Avatar related*

* * *

_Previously_

_"We did it!" Zuko said happily "Here are our costumes" Zuko said, throwing Tiana's dress at her "You get dressed first Zuko, I'll keep watch" Zuko nodded in agreement. Tiana looked down at the guards who were all still quite knocked out "One, two three, fo-" Tiana bent down to the three to see that one of them had gotten away "Oh gosh! Zuko we have a problem!" she said, picking up the loose rope and bringing it over to him. Zuko had just put on his jacket when she brought over the rope "This isn't good!" Tiana said, her ears perking up when she heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the steps. Thinking quickly she grabbed her costume and Zuko's stealth clothes and threw them into a fire "What'd you do that for?" Zuko asked. _

_She wasn't given the chance to tell him when they were joined by a dozen more guards with Azula leading the pack "Zuko! Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, stepping closer. Tiana pulled her knife out and holding it dangerously close to Zuko's neck "Tiana, what are you doing?" he thought with confusion "Move closer and he dies!" she threatened "Stay calm" Tiana looked around the room wildly. She moved close to Zuko's ear "Forgive me" she whispered before stabbing him in the stomach, simultaneously hitting a pressure point that made him lose consciousness "Tiana?" he asked, probably remaining unheard. The last thing he saw was Tiana's palms being absorbed in a swirl of water and fire._

* * *

"Zuko, can you hear me?" Azula asked with a shaky voice "_Yeah, I can hear you jes' fine" _he said in his head, the words he attempted to say refused to surface "Its gonna be alright Zuko, just stay with us" he could now feel Azula's grip tightening around his limp hand before he blacked out for the second time.

Waking up with a groan Zuko quickly sat upright, hissing when he felt a sharp pain in his torso "_Where'd this come fro- Oh... Right.." _Zuko stumbled his way over to a mirror in an attempt to fully assess the wound "_Had worse..." _He thought while poking at it a bit. "Prince Zuko! You're awake! I have to go alert Princess Azula of this!" A startled nurse said, immediately rushing out of the infirmary and into the halls.

"Strange..." Zuko murmered as he climbed back into the hospital bed "Zuzu!" Azula called as she rushed into the mostly white infirmary room "You're awake!" smiling bright, she moved to sit at the end of his bed, clasping his hand in hers "Awake?..." suddenly flashes of the previous night ran through Zuko's head "Right. Where's Tiana?" Azula took a moment to answer his question "Oh! You must mean the traitor. She's in the prison awaiting her execution" she answered simply "What? Why? When?" Zuko started to get back out of the bed when Azula tightened her grip on his hand, not allowing him to move "Zuzu, she tried to kill you last night! And the execution is in... about an hour." Zuko forced himself to calm down "Oh right. I seemed to have forgotten that lovely tidbit" he said sarcastically "I'd love to attend the execution" Azula looked at him, clearly stunned "You would? You never liked to attend these kinds of executions... or any for that matter" Azula said, surprised by his words "Well... My life had never been threatened by any of those commoners before" Azula nodded, satisfied by his reply "Alright, I"ll be here in forty minutes with clean clothes and such" Smiling, Azula gave Zuko's hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving the room.

Zuko stared at the ceiling with a blank mind while he awaited Azula's return. "_Execution... The only executions I really hated were the burnings..." _

* * *

"MY GOOD PEOPLE OF THE FIRE NATION!" the loud announcer yelled "TODAY WE RID OURSELVES OF ONE OF EVIL, ONE WHO EVEN ATTEMPTED TO BRING DEATH UPON OUR DEAR PRINCE. BUT WE'LL SHOW THIS SCUM NOT TO MESS WITH THE GREAT, THE MAJESTIC, FIRE NATION" His words were greeted by roars of cheers erupting throughout the people.

Nodding off to a guard who was walking a hooded person over to the stake, Zuko was nearly falling over the side of the metal railing when they'd finally revealed who it was. Zuko closed his eyes tightly when he saw long black hair flow out from beneath the hood. Wearing a short, thin white dress she allowed herself to be led up to the platform.

"Tiana Wang. You are charged with treason, impersonation, and worst of all, attempted murder of a royal. Any last words" Tiana took a deep breath, daring not to speak. "Fine then. Let the burning begin!" he announced almost cheerfully. Tiana walked towards the stake with as much bravery as she could muster "_No fear, No fear, No fear" _she spoke as her mantra while they binded her hands and feet together, the twine digging into her delicate skin.

Tiana's eyes flashed from the crowd directly to Zuko. Zuko saw through her mask of bravery, seeing the fear that sat deep within her. He barely had enough time to take another breath when they lit the hay beneath her. Azula suddenly hopped down from their viewing area, walking right up to Tiana. "You're going to die so you might as well admit who you were fighting alongside!" Azula snarled "Well, if I'm going to die... Isn't it better to just not tell you" she struggled to speak as the fire began to lick at her skin "Tell me! Who is your accomplice?" Azula demanded. Tiana defiantly remained silent "Fine then. This is taking way too long!" With an evil smirk Azula set blaze to all of the hay.

During this Zuko felt the adrenaline build in his system, fists clenching and unclenching. The moment Azula did the unthinkable Zuko, without a real plan in mind, leapt into action. "Zuko what are you doing?" Azula shrieked as Zuko pulled his cape tight around himself as he attempted to cut off the tight bonds around her hands and legs.

"Zuko get out of there!" Azula screeched "No!" his sister narrowed her eyes at her brother "Are you insane?" she asked . Tiana inhaled deeply "Zuko, just forget it." she nearly begged him, he looked up to her with determined eyes but didn't say a single word as he worked on the binds on her legs, he smiled to himself when he'd released her ankles and moving back up "Zuko! You've gotta go! Your clothing is catching on fire!" Zuko looked down for a moment, patting out the small fire building at the hem of his cloak "Its fine, getting you out is the important thing" he said, finally releasing her wrists. Wrapping his cloak around her he leapt out of the fire.

"Are you alright?" Tiana surprised him with a firm slap across the face "You idiot" she spoke with a shaky voice, coughing a few times from the smoke that had entered her lungs. Zuko ignored her as he examined the burns on her legs "Those are going to scar" he mumbled to himself "I guess.. no big deal though... right?" she asked, eyelids shutting close "No big deal at all" he affirmed. Azula stepped closer "Zuko... Why?" Zuko met Azula's teary gaze "Why have you done this?" Taking a deep breath he gathered Tiana up into his arms "Because I love her" he pressed his forehead against Tiana's. His head snapping up when he heard Azula sniffle "Zuko... Put her down or... or... You're an enemy to the fire nation!" shaking his head Zuko moved towards the crowd "Then thats just how its going to be... And Azula, I was the accomplice" the previously silent crowd who had been listening so intently broke out in muffled words and gasps. Azula lowered her head "Well then... Captain ... Seize the Prince.. He has betrayed our nation"

Fire-nation soldiers quickly swarmed around the prince "_Even here I end up betraying my own home" _he chuckled lightly as they approached him "I always knew you'd end up being a traitor. Lets go Zuko" the Captain commanded, dropping all formalities while poking a long spear in his direction "Don't do that" Zuko warned, backing up his words with an icy glare "Why what would you do?-" in a single swift motion Zuko flipped Tiana over his shoulder, pulled out his sword and effectively sliced the smug Captains spear in half. The Captain immediately fell to the ground, cowering away from Zuko who suddenly seemed much more dangerous than he usually did.

"D-d-don't j-just s-s-tan-d a-a-ar-round! GET HIM!" the Captain stumbled over his words, soldiers ran past their fallen leader careful not to accidentally step on them for fear of injuring him or rather getting killed later on. " Zuko exhaled out of frustration, taking a stance he quickly created a barrier of fire around the two of them, successfully keeping the soldiers away "_Shoot... If she was awake this would be a lot easier!" _he stared around him as he tried to figure out the smartest possible escape, he shifted her from his shoulder to carrying her bridal style, backing up slightly before sprinting off through the fire and into the crowd.

People immediately scattered away from the determined young man as he ran to find the nearest exit, shoving people out of the way when necessary. Looking down he saw Tiana slowly waking up "Zuko?" she called out feebly "Yeah" Tiana craned her neck in an attempt to see her surroundings "Where are we going?" Zuko was having a hard time producing an answer while also trying to escape the guards "I don't know. We just have to get out of here for now" Zuko took a sharp turn into an alley cursing to himself when it turned out to be a dead end. "_Damn it! That lost us a lot of time" _he quickly turned around back but one of the guards already caught sight of them "Y-you! S-stop r-r-right there!" the guard said with a shaky voice.

"Zuko, put me down" Tiana whispered "D-d-don't whisper! Or else!" Zuko looked a bit unsure at first before he realized what she was trying to get him to look at. Looking up he noticed a ladder leading to the roof of a two story building. Nodding, he put her down. Tiana took a deep breath, taking a stance and doing a small series of moves and creating a smoke screen.

"H-hey! What is t-this?" The guard asked, taking wild swipes around him in fear that they were going to attack him.

Tiana and Zuko made their way onto the roof wasting no time in leaping to the next roof "Lucky for us that they build the buildings so close!" Tiana observed "Yeah, thats until we leave this area, then we have to run it on foot again" Tiana sighed "Always gotta ruin the optimism, don't you?" she asked with a glare "Pretty much" he attempted to keep a straight face but couldn't help but crack a smirk "You're such a- " Tiana began when an arrow zipped past her, leaving a long cut along her cheek, another arrow flew past her, successfully piercing Zuko's shoulder causing him to lose his footing and begin to stumble forward, falling between the crack in between roofs "Zuko!" Tiana cried out, sliding down the slight slope on the roof and grabbing Zuko's hand before he could fall, pulling him up.

"Shoot" she muttered "Hold still" in a swift motion she removed the arrow, Zuko grunted in pain "It wasn't deep, now c'mon! We've gotta get out of here before the Yu Yan archers get any closer to get better aim at us! We're just barely out of their range as is!" The two sped off, leaping from roof to roof at even greater speeds than before "The Yu Yan archers? But I thought they had disbanded!" Zuko said incredulously "What? No, they never disbanded! Maybe where you're from but not here" she reminded him.

"Well this is bad then! We need to think of something quick with them on our trail!" Zuko looked to the ground as they ran, pointing to a narrow street that led straight for an extremely crowded marketplace "There!" he pointed towards their new target "They wouldn't shoot us in there. Too many civilians! Even the archers arrows couldn't make it to us past all of those people!" Nodding in agreement to his plan the two quickly found a trail down to discreetly make their way into the marketplace without seeming too suspicious. "Don't let go of my hand. We can't afford to split up at this point" he spoke while the two waltzed into the marketplace as if nothing was going on. Like he wasn't the now traitorous prince of the successful fire nation, or like she wasn't wearing a half singed semi-sheer dress that barely reached past her thigh. "Zuko" she looked around uncomfortably, people moving out of the way to create a path for the prince "Zuko" Tiana said his name again "Zuko" she said it louder this time "What?" he sounded distant "I think we should get some new clothes" Zuko stopped his fast pace "New clothes at a time like this?" Tiana nodded "Well... Yeah... Look at us" Zuko didn't so much look at her as much as he did the approving nods she was receiving from the men and the disapproving ones from the women "Right... Lets make it quick" he mumbled.

Zuko pulled her into the first store he saw, grabbing the first set of clothes he saw for the both of them, including cloaks which would definitely come in handy later on "We'll take these" he tossed the light blue dress at Tiana who wasted no time in running into the dressing room to change "Would you like to try on anything else? We have these accessories on sale and they would be lovel-" Zuko raised a hand to hush the worker "No. This is all we need... Thanks" He added the 'thanks' in a bit awkwardly, giving the worker money "Do you need change?" the old man asked "No thanks. Keep it." Like Tiana, Zuko quickly changed into the other clothes and the two were out of there in under five minutes, probably setting a new record for least amount of time spent shopping for new clothes, the old man shouted his gratitude at the two as they left, still in disbelief by the hefty tip Zuko had given him.

"Pull your hood up" Zuko whispered along with a reassuring squeeze to her hand "Its not me I'm worrying they'll recognize." she met eyes with him while obeying his previous command. The two went on through the crowd, trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible, walking along with the flow of the crowds whenever possible. Tiana froze when a strong hand jetted out from the crowd, placing it firmly on her shoulder "Ma'am" Trying to regulate her breath before turning to face the stranger "Play it cool" Zuko warned with his unchanging gaze "Umm... Yes?" She steadied her shaky voice "You dropped this" the man said smiling, presenting her a small change purse "Oh... Thanks but thats not mine" the man looked at her with a embarrassed look upon his face "Oh? I could've sworn I saw you drop it... Sorry for the trouble!" Tiana smiled "It was no trouble at all" she assured him "Thats good. Well I'll let you two get goi- " The man looked past Tiana to view Zuko "P-Prince Zuko?" He immediately dropped to the ground in a bowing position. The surrounding crowds began staring, one by one recognizing him as the prince and dropping to a bowing position "No! Everyone! You have to get up" He ordered "Zuko, this isn't going to turn out well! We have to go" Tiana tugged at Zuko's arm "No point.." Tiana looked at him with disbelief "'No point'? What is that supposed to mean?" Zuko took a deep breath "It means that we're already being targeted by the Yu Yan archers. We run, we die" Zuko stood firmly with his fists balled at his sides, Tiana took a few deep breaths before working up the nerve to give him a hard slap across the face, leaving a red hand print "Listen to me Zuko. We've come this far already! We stay, we die. We run, we may die but its better than letting them have the pleasure of killing us without a chase! Now lets go!"

Zuko nodded, almost in a daze after she slapped him, the two took off for the woods, only to be stopped by about ten guards blocking their path "What do we do now?" Zuko whispered "We fight" she stated simply before summoning water to whipping three guards into trees. Zuko took on two other guards who were about to attack Tiana while she was preoccupied. Causing an explosion Zuko successfully sent the other two guards flying back, skidding against the ground.

"Stop right there Zuko" a voice warned "Mai?" He asked, not turning towards her "Yes. Now, come quietly or your new friend dies" Her icy gaze settled upon Zuko. Reluctantly, he turned to face them. Ty-lee had disabled Tiana's arms thus rendering her basically helpless, Mai had an outstretched arm holding a dagger towards Tiana's neck. "Zuko, run" Tiana mouthed to him but Zuko shook his head. "Fine. I'll come quietly... Just leave her alone" he raised his hands in a surrendering way "Ty-lee, go and take care of Zuko's bending" Ty-lee nodded, skipping towards Zuko and taking away his bending without disabling his arms or legs. "Do you feel vulnerable Zuko?" Mai asked his malice in her tone, her eyes narrowing further when he remained silent.

Mai forced Tiana onto her knees, placing a foot on her back "Now Zuko. Answer my question. Do you feel vulnerable?" Zuko was finding it harder to answer "Guards. Kill the girl" she ordered, removing her foot to allow the guards to position a sword above Tiana's neck, brushing her hair to the side as they did so. "Zuko, this is your punishment for defying me. You will watch her die." Zuko's eyes darted from Tiana, to Mai, and back "Fine! Yes! I feel vulnerable" he admitted. Mai smiled wickedly "Thats a good boy" she nodded off to a guard who lifted the sword to finish the execution "What? No!" Without thinking Zuko ran towards them, not thinking about his lack of bending. The guard switched his attention from executing Tiana to Zuko, lifting his sword and thrusting it clear through Zuko's stomach.

"Zuko!" Tiana cried out, Mai stood by with a shocked expression. Tiana suddenly got a very determined look on her face, standing to face the rest of the guards, lifting her hand and projecting a huge spiral of fire that swallowed them all up. The guards screams filled the forest but she was way to pissed off to care. Tiana's eyes flickered up to Mai and Ty-lee "Ty-lee! Take her out" Ty-lee reluctantly nodded, moving towards her and began attempting to jab at her pressure points. Tiana had probably never moved faster and with one fluid motion she managed to knock Ty-lee against a tree. Mai watched as her friend slid down the tree trunk before looking back up at Tiana.

"This is all your fault" Tiana accused, igniting a palm on fire, water forming in the other. "For that you're gonna pay" After she spoke her last word she clapped her hands together, sending a swirl of fire and water towards Mai who screamed in terror. When Tiana knew Mai wasn't going to be any trouble she immediately ran to be by Zuko's side who'd fallen to the ground after she took out the guards, the sword still sticking through him. "Its gonna be okay Zuko. Just don't worry and stay calm" she tried to figure out how exactly to remove the sword without causing unnecessary bleeding. Zuko clasped his hand over hers "Its over" he said breathily "So... this is what it feels like... To die." Tiana couldn't keep the tears from falling "Don't say things like that!" she nearly begged "You know... this situation was switched... on two occasions actually... You almost died. I almost lost you twice." he raised a hand to stroke her cheek tenderly "Zuko... You still have to go back to your own dimension! I'm waiting for you over there, don't disappoint me." Zuko sighed, smiling "You know... I know that you're not exactly my Tiana but still... If I die, I'm glad I get to see your face" he admitted "Zuko don't talk like that or I'll have to kick your butt when you get better" she gave him a small smile, he chuckled, "Okay... You know I love you, right?" his voiced dropped in volume significantly "Yes, I do" Zuko smiled again "Good..." Tiana heard the breath leave his body.

"Zuko?" she called out in a small voice, dropping her head to his chest, listening intently for a heartbeat but failed to find one "Zuko..." she said again in a broken voice. Wiping her tears away she removed the sword. She let the tears fall freely, not caring if the other guards that had been chasing them caught up with her and killed her, she almost hoped that they would. Suddenly a hand was placed on her shoulder, she turned to view who it was, barely making out his face through bleary eyes "Sai" she choked out before falling into his chest, not being able to stop crying. Sai wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her hair "Z-Z-Zuk-ko's d-d-ead" she blubbered. Sai peered over her shoulder to see the prince, he couldn't help but notice the peaceful expression on Zuko's face "Shh..." he comforted "We should get out of here... Zuko wouldn't be happy if you got yourself killed on his account" he lifted her off the ground in a bridal position so even if she would've put up a fight he still would've rescued her away from there. Sai made a nod at the woods and in a split second Jet emerged, Sai made a reference to Zuko's body "But thats the prince..." Jet spat with disgust "He was a good man Jet... If not for him none of us would be here. He deserves a proper burial" his eyes saddened "Alright Sai" Jets voice softened as he picked up the deceased prince, holding him on his back.

"So where are we going?" Jet asked suddenly aware that they had no direction. Sai paused before replying "Away" he stated simply as the three disappeared into the woods.

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Wow... So... I didn't know exactly what to do... Like I had this grand plan and like usual I sped up certain parts, specifically the battle scenes... I'm no good at those :P But anyways! Sorry for taking so long but I'm on vacation right now and so maybe I"ll be able to put out another chapter this week? I already have an idea as to what I want to do but still... Putting it all together is really hard! But at least this is a pretty long chapter! Right? :)

Review are always greatly appreciated :) They make me very happy. I love hearing what you guys have to say! :)


	14. Chapter 14

Herro! Sorry I took so long.. This kinda stinks.. I thought I would've had a lot of free time but I actually didn't! These last few months have been murder T.T Plus getting ready for Summer college (I'm not a dunce I just need the extra credits lol) But anyways! I'm on vacation until the 1st of June! Huzzah! So I may be able to squeeze in a few chapters (It seems as thought every time I say that it takes 10000000 extra days to get another chapter out T.T) But seriously... I'd like to finish this story before the Summer ends! :) (I seriously hope thats going to happen because if it doesn't I think I may forget about this story altogether .)

*I don't own avatar or anything avatar related!*

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_Previously _

_"We should get out of here... Zuko wouldn't be happy if you got yourself killed on his account" he lifted her off the ground in a bridal position so even if she would've put up a fight he still would've rescued her away from there. Sai made a nod at the woods and in a split second Jet emerged, Sai made a reference to Zuko's body "But thats the prince..." Jet spat with disgust "He was a good man Jet... If not for him none of us would be here. He deserves a proper burial" his eyes saddened "Alright Sai" Jets voice softened as he picked up the deceased prince, holding him on his back._

_"So where are we going?" Jet asked suddenly aware that they had no direction. Sai paused before replying "Away" he stated simply as the three disappeared into the woods._

* * *

Zuko woke with a unmistakeable, throbbing pain in his head. His cheek to a cool floor he blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness "_What in the world?" _Zuko slowly stood to his feet, standing still as he regained his balance "You did much better than I'd expected Zuko" an eerie voice spoke from the shadows "Who's there?" Zuko tried to keep neutral, just in case it was the Face Stealer "Me" suddenly the spider like figure dropped from the ceiling, his face inches from Zuko's "Not the reaction you'd expected. Is it?" Zuko asked with a cold tone to his voice "No, I can't say it is" Koh circled around the young fire lord "Do you know what you did in the dimension I made for you?" Koh asked, his red lips curling into a sick smile "I died." Zuko stated "No... YOU GAVE UP YOUR CHANCE AT A PERFECT LIFE!" Koh's face transformed into a vicious looking, middle-aged man with a mustache and beard, Koh moved closer to Zuko in an attempt to emphasize his point but was met with a still neutral expression. "No, I didn't. I gave up my life because without her... I wouldn't have a perfect life"

Zuko woke with a unmistakeable, throbbing pain in his head. His cheek to a cool floor he blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness "_What in the world?" _Zuko slowly stood to his feet, standing still as he regained his balance "You did much better than I'd expected Zuko" an eerie voice spoke from the shadows "Who's there?" Zuko tried to keep neutral, just in case it was the Face Stealer "Me" suddenly the spider like figure dropped from the ceiling, his face inches from Zuko's "Not the reaction you'd expected. Is it?" Zuko asked with a cold tone to his voice "No, I can't say it is" Koh circled around the young fire lord "Do you know what you did in the dimension I made for you?" Koh asked, his red lips curling into a sick smile "I died." Zuko stated "No... YOU GAVE UP YOUR CHANCE AT A PERFECT LIFE!" Koh's face transformed into a vicious looking, middle-aged man with a mustache and beard, Koh moved closer to Zuko in an attempt to emphasize his point but was met with a still neutral expression. "No, I didn't. I gave up my life because without her... I wouldn't have a perfect life"

"Very interesting... However, I find your reasoning to be unoriginal." Zuko shrugged at the accusation "Well I'm sorry that I can't live up to your expectations, Koh" Zuko spoke sarcastically "You have absolutely no right to be smug with me. But thats a whole other topic... The current topic at hand would be.. How would your fiancee act in a position such as yours?" Koh circled around Zuko, moving quick and fluidly like a snake "Would she give up an ideal life for love?" he asked in one ear "Would she leave it all for someone like you? A liar.. a traitor... a murderer" he taunted in the other "Yes, she would.." Zuko attempted at an even sounding voice but couldn't help but question it himself "Ah, not so confident anymore? Well... You shouldn't be" he reminded him "I'll be seeing you later Zuko... I have to see to your young fiancee, Tiana. Lets hope she can pass my test because if she doesn't.. You'll both be trapped in my realm forever. Also, I'll leave you with this question to think over while I'm gone... Will she fall in love with the you again? Or will she choose her dead family and live happily in my limbo?" Koh smirked evilly before backing up and disappearing into the shadows leaving Zuko in an almost completely dark room with the only exception being a dim torch beside the wall where he was leaning. "Good luck, Tiana... You'll need it" Zuko murmured to himself before losing himself in his thoughts about what Koh had said.

* * *

_Somewhere else in Koh's cave_

"Let me out!" Tiana banged on the cell door insistently "Listen! I told you already, _sweetie_, you're not getting out of here until I say you are" Loki reminded her from the other side "Where is Zuko?" Loki's nails dug deep into the desk she was sitting at, whipping around to face the cell and nearly ripped the door off its hinges "Listen girly" she moved quickly, pinning Tiana against a cold wall by the neck "I've already told you that the big boss is busy with Zuko, so just shut up already and be a good little girl by waiting... in silence" Releasing her steel grip, Tiana fell to the ground gasping for air, Loki looked at the younger girl with disgust, turning her back with a 'tch' sound, not noticing Tiana scramble to stand up quick enough to give Loki a firm kick her in the back to send her flying against a wall. Loki turned back to Tiana, her face badly beaten up, hiding her previously flawless beauty "Do you realize how many souls I'll have to consume to make up for this you stupid little brat?" Loki asked while touching her own face. "If you ask me I'd say its an improvement" Tiana spoke defiantly "Why you-" Loki lifted her hand to strike Tiana across the face when her wrist was caught by a familiar hand "Keiran? Can't you see I'm busy?" she asked rhetorically, rage clear in her eyes "Calm down Loki. She's not worth it, not sure if you remember or not but she's not in the best health" Loki jerked her arm away "Fine. You take over here... I'm going to go find some prey, I don't know what I'll do with myself looking like a monster" she flipped her hair up as she spoke "Like its a big difference than what you were previously" Tiana muttered "What was that?" Loki's ears perked up at the slight sound "It was nothing Loki, she just wants to clean up. I'll make her presentable to Koh, you go find your prey" he shooed her out, ignoring her suspicious protests.

"I have to ask you a question" he spoke seriously, although lacking the cold tone he held earlier "Okay.. Only if you tell me if Zuko is okay" Keiran snorted "I don't think you're in any position to be making deals but... I'll answer your question. Yes, Zuko is fine. He passed Koh's test" Tiana let out a sigh of relief "Now, my question for you is... What is your great-grandfathers name on your fathers side?" Tiana looked at him with a perplexed expression "Umm... Let me think... Ja.. no, Jun?.. No... Uh- Right! It was Jee Wang" Kieran's eyes filled with an indescribable emotion "Was his name Jee C. Wang?" Tiana eyed Kieran up with a cocked eyebrow "Yes, it was" Kieran fell to his knee's in front of Tiana, catching her by surprise "Kieran? Are you alright?" She was too worried about the man to think about whether or not she should care about his well being. Small inaudible sounds escaped Kieran, his hand covering half his face "Kieran?" she called again, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm great! Better than great! I feel... renewed!" Kieran looked up at Tiana, his eyes watery and filled with joy, a smile plastered across his face "Your great-grandfather is Jee Chen!" the younger girls eyebrows knitted together "Jee Chen?" she thought about the name, repeating it to herself a few times before gasping "Jee Chen? The Jee Chen you killed?" Kieran nodded excitedly "Yes- Well.. I mean.. Sorta- But no... Let me tell you how the rest of that story goes"

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_*Flashback* _

_"Tsk tsk tsk... I'm surprised at your loyalty private... or rather lack thereof" Jee whipped around, meeting eyes with Mang, without a second thought he pulled out his sword, slicing the ropes and letting the two drift away "Just let them go!" he yelled "Why? You've already done that" he said darkly "You know the consequences Private, sorry its just... business" _

_"I hope you realize that you've just betrayed your own nation" Kieran reminded him "If saving an innocent woman and her child form a massacre that doesn't even involve them... Then I'd gladly do it as many times as I had to" the young private spoke with a confidence that he had previously lacked "Besides, what exactly are we fighting for? World domination? Then what?" Kieran tightened his grip around his sword "Is it really worth it? Do you see all the pain this war is causing? Hundreds of families are in mourning for the loss of their sons, fathers, brothers, uncles. All because of this war. All I'm trying to say is I don't think this is a war worth fighting for. But if you do, than run me through, I won't fight you" Kieran flinched slightly at the sound of Jee's sword clanging against the stone "Before you do though... Take a look through that archway and tell me what you see" Kieran hesitantly looked up, but not for fear that Jee would try to pull a fast one but more of fear of what he would see and that all his previous idea's that had been nearly drilled into him were in fact, wrong. _

_"I see soldiers fighting for their nation" Jee took a daring step towards his commanding officer "No __**sir**__, look past the soldiers and look at the airbenders" he pointed specifically towards a young female airbender "What is she doing?" Jee asked "Fighting off our soldiers" Jee shook his head "No, look past that" he said in a frustrated tone. Kieran took a second look and saw what exactly she was protecting so fiercely. Behind her were seven young airbender children cowering behind what he assumed was their teacher. "Listen Jee, I realize this isn't the best idea ever but its for the- " Jee cut him off "Betterment of the nation, don't tell me what I already know. But I'm going to tell you what you don't know and thats that these are good and innocent people and I'm not dying with blood on my hands" he admitted "I found another airship, I know you, you're a good man, now... kill me or let me leave" Jee demanded an answer, stepping towards the edge of the cliff. _

_"You're right Jee... " he began, holding his sword up towards Jee who took a deep breath, preparing himself for death "They'll know I let you go... And if they catch you I can assure you'll have a fate worse than death so... This is going to hurt... a lot" in a swift motion he had run Jee through the shoulder "There's a temple deep in the clouds, there is a colony of healers there, they can help you" Jee had a small smile on his face "Thank you... sir" he mumbled through the pain "Good luck Jee..." he said, beginning to draw his sword out "You too sir, maybe we'll meet again" Jee said hopefully "I don't think so... We're going to different places... Good bye Jee" in that moment things seemed to slow as he watched the young private fall over the side, he had to force himself to not look over the edge but his ears perked up to a familiar sound of an engine running "__**He made it**__" Kieran thought with a smirk, his face turning serious once more when he thought of all that Jee had said. _

_"We won!" Jon beamed while Mang just cleaned off his sword "Everyones accounted for eh... Almost, we've lost twenty four men, all bodies have been recovered... Except Private Jee Chen's... I asked around and everyone says that they didn't see him at all during the battle, do you know where he is?" Mang nodded "Oh, good. Where?" he asked, looking around the corner as if expecting Chen to be hiding, waiting to jump out and scare him "He's dead" Jon's smile nearly melted off his face "Wha- Dead? Which of those bastards killed him?" anger filling the place of joy, Mang merely met eyes with him "This one" he said simply, looking back down at his sword "Don't screw with me" meeting eyes once more he realized that his friend wasn't kidding "You... Why?" finally content with the sword he put it back in its holder at his side "He helped the enemy, I'm just doing my job" he said coldly, brushing past his friend._

* * *

"I didn't tell Jon... Not because I thought he would spill a secret because I know that he was just as opposed to the war as Jee was... I just couldn't risk it. Y'know... Now that I think about it, if Jon had been offered the opportunity to switch sides, he definitely would've." he chuckled to himself at the thought of his friend "Okay.. Let me be clear here... You didn't kill Jee? And Jee is my great-grandfather." Kieran nodded "Thats correct.. What ever happened to Jee?" he asked "Lets see... The way my grandfather told of his father was he lived in a small fire nation colony, where he met my great-grandmother, he opened a small general store and then he disappeared before my father was born" Kieran looked at Tiana incredulously "What do you mean 'disappeared'? The Jee I knew would never run, especially from a life as ideal as that one seemed to be." he gripped Tiana's shoulders "Kieran, you're hurting me" he searched her eyes for a moment "I-I'm sorry.. I just don't believe that he would disappear for no reason" he sighed "Well... He was sick if that helps any.. He may have gone off to die.. From what I hear, he was never one to let others see him in pain.. He wanted to be the one there for everyone else but hated when people wanted to help him." chuckling to himself, Kieran nodded his head "Now that would've been the Jee I knew"

Before another second had passed Tiana found herself wrapped in a tight warm embrace "Thank you so much" Kieran said, tangling his fingers in the girls hair as he pulled her closer "Erm... For what?" She asked, awkwardly hugging him back. "For giving me peace. Now I can cross over. I've been waiting so long for this and now.." he cupped her face in his hands "I'm free" he grinned widely "I owe you one" licking her lips Tiana spoke slowly as she carefully formed which words to speak "So... would that cover something like... letting Zuko and I g-" Kieran shook his head sadly "I'm sorry ... but no. Not even I can do that. But speaking of which; we should probably get you cleaned up" Kieran pulled her to her feet "I'll prep you on what to expect so at least you'll be prepared" Tiana sighed "I understand... Thanks anyways" Kieran spun Tiana around to face him, firmly grasping her hand in his "Listen... I'm truly sorry.. If I could do anything.. I really would. I just want you to know that" Kieran gave her a reassuring smile "Thanks.. That means a lot, Kieran" she replied, returning the smile "Good. Now, lets get you cleaned up" Kieran said while grabbing a towel from a hook on the door leading into the bathroom, slinging it over his shoulder.

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Gosh, this chapter was relatively short in comparison to the last few but still, at least its up! :)

So yeah, the next chapter will basically finish up what I wrote here (Obviously :P) but while I'd like to say things are wrapping up soon I can't because there's a few story lines that I'm wanting to use so.. yeah -.- lol this could be a while.

Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it! And reviews are always appreciated :) Also, if you have any questions, comments, concerns(?) feel free to ask :)


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